Water consumption and crop coefficient of sugarcane in two soil cover conditions, based on the method of Bowen ratio

• Grant number: 15/18179-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: December 01, 2015
• End date: November 30, 2016
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Agronomy - Agricultural Meteorology
• Principal Investigator: Fabio Ricardo Marin
• Grantee: Carolina Machado Marini
• Host Institution: Escola Superior de Agricultura Luiz de Queiroz (ESALQ). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Piracicaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The culture of sugarcane allowed Brazil to figure on the world stage as model generation and use of renewable energy. In the last decade, the growing demand for sugar and ethanol enabled the expansion of culture mainly in the western regions of São Paulo and Midwest regions of Brazil, where irrigation is essential for the establishment and maintenance of culture. However, irrigated agriculture is ever more pressured by limited water resources and the growing demand for the use of water sources. Thus, the improvement of irrigation management for field crops is urgently needed. An important question for the sugarcane industry is the handling of the straw, which can modify the soil microbiology, carbon cycle, nitrogen and water in the fields. This project will seek to determine the effect of cane trash on evapotranspiration of irrigated sugarcane, the water consumption is quantified and the crop coefficient of culture in two treatments on the soil cover with straw, using the Bowen Ratio system.