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A two year field study (1996/97 and 1997/98 growing seasons) was carried out at the Maricopa Agricultural Center (33º04'07" N; 111º57'18" W) of the University of Arizona, USA, to investigate the water use and to derive Kc's for subsurface drip-irrigated head lettuce grown in small weighable lysimeters. Measurement periods ranged from 480 to 1100 ºC-day (96/97) and from 439 to 1098 ºC-day (97/98). These intervals corresponded essentially to the second half of the crop cycle which amounted to a 1100 ºC-day, on average. The lysimeters were weighed periodically and the computation of the water balance revealed an average water use of 117 mm. Basal crop Kc was expressed as a function of cumulative growing degree days following a multiple linear regression procedure in which the data were fitted with a Fourier sine series model with up to six coefficients. Two-year Kc curves were obtained based on the Hargreaves, FAO Penman and FAO Penman-Monteith equations and compared to the AZSCHED (AriZona SCHEDuling) irrigation package. Predicted Kc peaked 0.88, 0.80 and 0.81 with the Hargreaves, FAO Penman, FAO Penman-Monteith equations, respectively, in the range of 1000 to 1050 ºC-day, in contrast to AZSCHED which predicted the peak Kc to be 1.01 at 1150 ºC-day.Um estudo conduzido na Fazenda Experimental Maricopa (33º04'07" N; 111º57'18" W), pertencente à Universidade do Arizona, USA, nos anos agrícolas de 1996/97 e 1997/98, objetivou determinar o uso de água e derivar coeficientes de cultura (Kc) da alface de cabeça irrigada por gotejamento subsuperficial e cultivada em lisímetros de pesagem intermitente. O período de medições, expresso em graus-dia acumulados, variou de 480 a 1100 ºC-dia em 96/97 e de 439 a 1098 ºC-dia em 97/98. Esses intervalos corresponderam à segunda metade do ciclo da cultura, sendo que até a colheita somou-se uma média de 1100 ºC-dia. Os lisímetros eram pesados periodicamente e o balanço hídrico revelou um consumo médio de 117 mm, naqueles períodos. O Kc basal foi relacionado com o acúmulo de graus-dia através de regressão múltipla, seguindo um modelo dado por uma série seno de Fourier, com até seis coeficientes. As curvas de Kc foram determinadas com base nos métodos de Hargreaves, FAO Penman e FAO Penman-Monteith, para cálculo da ETo e comparadas por aquela gerada pelo programa AZSCHED (AriZona SCHEDuling) de manejo da irrigação. Valores máximos de Kc estimados foram 0,88 (método de Hargreaves), 0,80 (FAO Penman) e 0,81 (FAO Penman-Monteith) no intervalo de 1000 a 1050 ºC dia, inferiores a 1,01 em 1150 ºC dia, que é o máximo Kc previsto pelo programa AZSCHED.

A two year field study (1996/97 and 1997/98 growing seasons) was carried out at the Maricopa Agricultural Center (33º04'07" N; 111º57'18" W) of the University of Arizona, USA, to investigate the water use and to derive Kc's for subsurface drip-irrigated head lettuce grown in small weighable lysimeters. Measurement periods ranged from 480 to 1100 ºC-day (96/97) and from 439 to 1098 ºC-day (97/98). These intervals corresponded essentially to the second half of the crop cycle which amounted to a 1100 ºC-day, on average. The lysimeters were weighed periodically and the computation of the water balance revealed an average water use of 117 mm. Basal crop Kc was expressed as a function of cumulative growing degree days following a multiple linear regression procedure in which the data were fitted with a Fourier sine series model with up to six coefficients. Two-year Kc curves were obtained based on the Hargreaves, FAO Penman and FAO Penman-Monteith equations and compared to the AZSCHED (AriZona SCHEDuling) irrigation package. Predicted Kc peaked 0.88, 0.80 and 0.81 with the Hargreaves, FAO Penman, FAO Penman-Monteith equations, respectively, in the range of 1000 to 1050 ºC-day, in contrast to AZSCHED which predicted the peak Kc to be 1.01 at 1150 ºC-day.