Yield and evapotranspiration characteristics of potato-legume intercropping simulated using a dual coefficient approach in a tropical highland

Abstract

An accurate estimation of crop evapotranspiration and soil water balance under potato-legume intercropping is important for improving the crop water productivity of rainfed potato. This study quantified the evapotranspiration, yield, and soil water balance of potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) intercropped with lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus L.) or dolichos (Lablab purpureus L.) in comparison to the same crops under monocropping. The experiment was set up in three agroecological zones of Kenya: upper midland (with an altitude range of 1500–1653 m above sea level (masl)), lower highland (1892–1923 masl) and upper highland (2502–2594 masl). The dual crop coefficient approach was adopted with the SIMDualKc model to estimate crop evapotranspiration and compute the soil water balance. The dual crop coefficient partitions crop evapotranspiration into crop transpiration and soil evaporation by applying both soil evaporation and basal crop coefficient. The model was calibrated and validated using field data observed along four crop growth seasons. The basal crop coefficients, the ratios of soil evaporation to evapotranspiration, and that of transpiration to evapotranspiration were determined. The yields of different intercrops were converted into equivalent yield of potato based on price of the produce. Good agreement between the observed and simulated data for available soil water and crop evapotranspiration was found with modeling efficiency > 0.8. The residual mean square error was low and ranged from 0.01−0.08 m3 m-3 for available soil water and 0.03−0.09 mm d-1 for crop evapotranspiration. The transpiration to actual evapotranspiration ratio of potato-legume intercropping was 6−28% greater than that of the sole potato because legume intercrops fully covered the ground by mid-season, thus limiting the energy available for soil evaporation. Crop yields were significantly greater under intercropping as transpiration occurred near its potential rate, thus not limiting yields. These results support the dual crop coefficient method as an appropriate tool to estimate and accurately partition crop evapotranspiration under potato-legume intercropping.