Design and construction of a large weighing lysimeter in an almond orchard

Abstract

Effective water management is essential to ensure the sustainability of irrigated agriculture. The accurate determination of crop water requirements is the first step in this task. This paper describes the building of a one-tree weighing lysimeter (3m x 3m and 2.15m depth) located in an almond orchard (Prunus dulcis “Guara”), inside the experimental farm “Alameda del Obispo” in Córdoba, Spain, to measure orchard evapotranspiration (ETc). Following a review on lysimetry, the description of the construction of the weighing lysimeter is provided in detail, including considerations relative to system resolution and wind effects on the measurements. Finally, some preliminary results of the evaporation and transpiration of young almond trees are presented demonstrating that lysimetry in orchards provides accurate ET values needed to determine irrigation water requirements.