The objective of this study was to determine the evapotranspiration and yield as well, as the appropriate irrigation scheduling, for mango. The experimental design was in randomized blocks, with four treatments and four repetitions. The irrigation treatments were established based on the reference crop coefficient (Kcr), such as: treatment T1 (Kcr - 20%), treatment T2 (Kcr), treatment T3 (Kcr + 20%) and treatment T4 (control). The evapotranspiration of mango was obtained by the soil water balance method and the production components were also evaluated. Soil water pressure suction was measured based on twelve sets of mercury tensiometers positioned under the canopy of individual trees. Measurements were recorded three times per week at 08:00, 12:00 and 16:00 h. Throughout the mango fruiting cycle the mean daily evapotranspirations were 3.0, 3.2, 3.6 and 4.1 mm day-1 in the treatments T1, T2, T3 and T4, respectively. The maximum and minimum yields were 31.1 and 28.1 t ha-1 in the T3 and T4 treatments, respectively. The T3 treatment is more appropriate for the studied area.
Mangífera indica L.; soil water content; irrigation scheduling
