Estimation of water requirement of early and late season tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum mill) in Calabar, southeast Nigeria.

Abstract

The estimation of water requirements of early and late season tomato was conducted based on 10 years meteorological data at Calabar typical of the humid tropical zone, using the Penman’s equation. Results showed that
the seasonal crop evapotranspiration (ETo) value for early season tomato (March – July) was 60.8mm/day, while that of late season (September – December) was 73.6mm/day. The result showed that the water requirement for the late season was 2.0% higher than the early season tomato. However, water deficit tended to be greater in flowering than at yield formation. The calculated monthly crop coefficient (Kc/month) values for early season and late season tomato (the initial, crop development, and late season stages) were the same. The Kc values increased from low value at a time of crop emergence to a maximum value during the period when the crop reached full development, and declined thereafter when the crop matured. These results are discussed in light of estimation of water requirement of early and late season of tomato in Calabar.