Determination of water requirement and crop coefficient for strawberry using lysimeter experiment in a semi-arid climate

This research is aimed at measuring the water requirement, crop coefficient, and strawberry canopy coverage for efficient water consumption management. Two volumetric lysimeters were installed during the growing season of 2018 and 2019 at an agricultural research station in Kurdistan provinces, Iran. In one of the lysimeters, the grass crop was cultivated as the reference crop. Queen Elisa, the dominant strawberry cultivar of the study area, was planted in the other lysimeter. To determine the crop coefficient, strawberry and grass evapotranspiration at different stages of plant growth was measured and evaluated. The results showed that the average evapotranspiration of strawberries was 3.8 mm/day and the amount of water consumed during the whole growing season was 873.4 mm. The evapotranspiration of grass was calculated as 1143.5 mm with an average of 4.7 mm/day. Initial, middle, and ultimate crop coefficients were measured as 0.45, 0.86, and 0.8, respectively. During the growing season, the strawberry canopy cover increased by 73% and then decreased by 65%. There was a linear relationship (R2 = 0.94) between crop coefficient and strawberry canopy coverage.