The objective of this work was to determine the relationship between net radiation (Rn) and incident solar radiation (Rg) in potato canopy at six different cultivation periods and stages of development in order to generate linear models that describe this relationship. The experiments were conducted in the experimental area of University of Santa Maria, RS, in the years of 2004 to 2007. Rn was measured by net radiometers in six experiments and Rg by automatic weather station, situated 30 to 80 m from the experiments. For purposes of calculation, were performed daily sums of Rn and Rg. Through these, it was calculated the Rn/Rg ratio for each day. There was obtained a good relationship between changes in Rn and Rg. This relationship was confirmed in the regression analysis, obtaining models with high correlation coefficient, indicating precisely to estimate net radiation in potato canopies as a function of incident solar radiation (Rg), irrespective of season. The function general linear obtained with data from different years, growing seasons and genotypes was not sensitive to leaf area index, resulting in: Rg Rn = 0.6410 (R² = 0.976), that in the test showed RQME = 0.75 MJ m-2 dia-1. The diurnal energy flux density of net radiation can be estimated through using the flux density of global solar radiation measured in automatic stations with sufficient accuracy for modeling.
Solanum tuberosum; Radiation availability; Net radiometers; Plant canopy
