Water consumption and plant coefficients of turfgrass irrigated by sub-surface drip irrigation method

The present research was conducted in Konya Province of Turkey. The province has an arid and semi-arid climate with an average annual precipitation of 320.9 mm and significant water deficits both in domestic and irrigation water supplies. Use of domestic water supplies for irrigation of grass lands (lawns) is a significant concern with regard to future of regional water resources. Sprinkler (pop-up) irrigation is commonly used in lawn and landscape irrigations in the province. With this research, for the first time in the region, actual water consumption of turfgrass in sub-surface drip irrigation method was determined by gravimetric method. Turfgrass reference water consumption was also calculated by using meteorological databased FAO (Food and Agriculture Organization) methods of Penman-Monteith (FAO-PM), Blaney-Criddle (FAO-BC) and Pan Evaporation (FAOPan) methods and turfgrass plant coefficients during the irrigation season were determined. Results revealed a total water consumption of 766.56 mm for turfgrass during the irrigation season covering the months May-October. Penman-Monteith method had yielded the closest estimation (789.1 mm) to actual plant water consumption. Monthly plant coefficients (Kc) were calculated as between 0.90-1.00.