The peanut crop with its low water requirement, short growing period and a higher demand, which is not attended by the regional markets, is an important alternative crop to be grown in the irrigated areas of the Brazilian Northeast, especially in the sandy soils. This paper is concerned with the evaluation of different methods, which determine the water requirements of a peanut crop. The crop water consumption is determined from two evapotranspirometers with constant water table. The reference evapotranspiration is obtained by using different methods. The peanut crop water requirement is in the order of 650 mm and the crop coefficient obtained from the methods of Class A Pan evaporimeter, Hargreaves and Thornthwaite, is more adequate for efficient management of irrigation.
evapotranspiration; irrigation; Arachis hhypogaea
