Determination Of The Consumptive Use (evapotranspiration) Of Groundnut (a Case Study Of A Groundnut Farm Land In Awha Imezi, Ezeagu Local Government Area Of Enugu State)

ABSTRACT

   The consumptive use of water assures all year round production of groundnut prone to the vagaries of weather and climate. This brought about the need to supply moisture that is naturally available through rainfall. The successful design of any irrigation system requires the knowledge of the consumptive use of water by the crop under consideration. This need led to the investigation of the water use rate of groundnut in a typical area found in Awha-Imezi of Ezeagu in Enugu State of Nigeria. Climate data required for computing or estimating consumptive use of water for groundnut using the Blaney-Criddle method were obtained from Awha-Imezi, the same area as the location of this case study. The determination was for the period of the study, April to August, 2013. Field measurements were carried out to determine the consumptive use of groundnut with the aid of a portable non-weighing lysimeter. The estimated values of consumptive use as determined by the Blaney-Criddle method were lower than those determined experimentally. It was then recommended that a more elaborate study that would spread throughout the life span of the plant be conducted to confirm the results that were obtained so far. This would be required for irrigating the crop throughout its growing season.

 

TABLE OF CONTENT

CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 

CHAPTER THREE   

CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION 

CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 75

 

LIST OF TABLES

Table 1: The major producers of groundnut in the shell and the major producing countries.

Table 2. Range of inorganic constituents occurring in peanut kernels.

Table 3: Values of crop factor to compute consumptive use from pan evaporation data.

Table 4: Hydrometer reading 

Table 5: Soil analysis data

Table 6: Soil property determination and calibration data

Table 7:  Evapotranspiration data for the month

Table 8: Evapotranspiration values determined by lysimeter method.

Table 9:  Groundnut daily crop consumptive use for the month of April 2013.

Table 10: Groundnut daily crop consumptive use for the month of May 2013.

Table 11: Groundnut daily crop consumptive use for the month of June 2013.   

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1: The pods and kernels of the Dixie Spanish and North Carolina varieties of peanuts.

Figure 2: Simple drainage lysimeter (non-weighing)

Figure 3: Small weighing lysimeter.

Figure 4: Generalized crop coefficient curve during the growing season and stage definitions.

Figure 5: Crop coefficient definition showing the basal keb, ke, and time average (keb + ke values).

Figure 6: Portable non-weighing lysimeter

Figure 7: Experimental field layout.

Figure 8: USDA textural class.

Figure 9: Calibration curve of resistance block for a sand loam soil.

Figure 10: Groundnut evapotranspiration curve determined by lysimeter method.