Water and nutrient availability in the soil at suitable times and in adequate amounts, as related to edaphic and climatic conditions, are undeniably relevant for crop yields. The objective of this work was to evaluate the actual evapotranspiration of an orange plantation, analyze its variability and verify the influence of the soil water loss on crop productivity. The experiment was carried out in Piracicaba County (SP), Brazil, on an Oxisol. The actual evapotranspiration was evaluated by a soil water balance model with 40 experimental points corresponding to 40 plants of two adjacent plant rows with 20 plants each. The orange trees, grown in a 7 x 4 m spacing (7 m between rows and 4 m between plants), were 11 -year-old. In each point, an aluminium tube was inserted at the canopy projection (2 m from the stem) of each one of the 40 plants in the rows down to a depth of 1.2 m to provide access to a neutron probe. Three tensiometers were placed at depths of 1.0, 1.1 and 1.2 m. Water storage in the 0.0-1.1 m soil layer was determined based on the weekly neutron probe readings. Rainfall, measured with an automated rain gauger, was normal for the study period. Internal drainage and capillary rise were estimated by the Darcy-Buckingham equation based on daily readings of the three tensiometers and on the hydraulic conductivity, determined at the control depth (1.1 m) as a function of matric potential through the instantaneous profile method. Irrigation and run-offs were negligible and the actual crop evapotranspiration was calculated by the difference between soil water storage and the sum of the other evaluated processes. The balance was estimated for 14 periods during the annual cycle of the orange crop. In these 14 monitoring periods, the actual evapotranspiration was analyzed by means of descriptive and exploratory statistical methods; mean variation coefficient of these 14 periods was 16%. The annual actual evapotranspiration was 1.271 mm and daily mean values ranged from 0.4 to 8.4 mm. The water use efficiency or ratio between productivity and actual evapotranspiration of each plant varied from 1.57 to 4.52 kg m-3 during the monitored period. Higher yielding plants also had a higher actual evapotranspiration.
water balance; water use efficiency; neutron probe; tensiometer
