Transpiração em meloeiro com uso de sensores de fluxo por dissipação térmica

Abstract

The objective of this work was to estimate the transpiration of the melon using thermal dissipation sap flow sensors (SDT) constructed and calibrated, based on the methodology developed by Granier (1985). The work was carried out with the melon crop in a greenhouse at the Universidade Federal Rural do Semi-Árido/UFERSA, Mossoró-RN. The experimental design was completely randomized blocks, consisting of four treatments and three replicates. The treatments (T) consisted of SFDT sensors constructed with four different sizes of dissipative wires (12, 15, 18 and 21 cm), which resulted in four different resistances (T1) 13.2; (T2) 16.5; (T3) 19.8 and (T4) 23.0 Ohm (, respectively, installed in vases-grown melon plants. Plant transpiration was also estimated by calculating crop evapotranspiration (ETc) using the FAO-Penman–Monteith (ALLEN et al., 2006) method. The SDT sensors constructed and calibrated for melon can be used to determine sap flow. The sap flows estimated by the constructed sensors presented values close to the culture transpiration, indicating that the SFDT are suitable for this measurement.