Evapotranspiration, crop coefficients and water use efficiency of the bell pepper crop in different cropping systems

Evapotranspiration, crop coefficients and water use efficiency of the bell pepper crop in different cropping systems. The objective of this study was to determine the crop evapotranspiration (ETc), crop coefficients (kc) and water-use efficiency (EUA) of the bell pepper crop in the no till system (PD) and conventional tillage system (PC), in the Fluminense Valley, Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. The irrigation was managed and the evapotranspiration demand quantified by calculating the daily soil water balance using the TDR technique and data collected in an automatic meteorological station. It was verified that the accumulated ETc at 181 days after planting (DAT) was 363 and 335 mm for PD and PC, respectively. The kcs obtained were 0.32, 1.18 and 0.77 and 0.34, 1.05 and 0.86, for the PD) and PC systems, respectively, in the initial (0-40 DAP), middle (81-120 DAP) and final (181 DAP) growth phases, respectively. The kc values for the bell pepper crop presented by FAO were similar to the values found for the PC, but are not recommended for PD. Considering the total depth applied (rain and irrigation), the average values of water use efficiency were 3.9 and 4.5 kg m(-3) for PD and PC, respectively.