CALIBRATION OF THE HARGREAVES-SAMANI EQUATION FOR SPECIFIC PERIODS OF THE YEAR IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF JAÍBA-MG, BRAZIL

Abstract

Reference evapotranspiration (ET0) explains the climatic effects on crop water demand. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) recommends the Penman Monteith equation as a standard method for estimating ET0. However, because this equation requires a large amount of meteorological data, it has limited application. An alternative is the Hargreaves-Samani (HS) equation, which only requires air temperature data, and can be calibrated to specifc locations and periods. The present study aimed to calibrate the empirical parameters (coeffcients and exponent) of the HS equation for specifc periods of the year, as well as evaluate the behavior and calibration of this equation throughout the year in the municipality of Jaíba-MG, Brazil. The daily meteorological data from 1996 to 2011 were gathered from a weather station located in the municipality of Jaíba-MG. A general calibration was performed per semester, per season, per month, and during periods with similar climatic conditions. The calibration of the HS equation, in all of the forms studied, promoted better ET0estimations. The calibrations for specifc periods of the year only promoted slight increases in performance in relation to the general calibration, therefore they, in general, presented equal performance to each other.