Quantification of Daily Water Requirements of Container-Grown <i>Calathea</i> and <i>Stromanthe</i> Produced in a Shaded Greenhouse
Beeson, Richard C. | Chen, Jianjun
Irrigating plants based on their water requirements enhances water use efficiency and conservation; however, current irrigation practices for container-grown greenhouse plants largely relies on growers’ experiences, resulting in leaching and/or runoff of a large amount of water. To address water requirements of greenhouse-grown plants, this study adapted a canopy closure model and investigated actual evapotranspiration (ET<inf>A</inf>) of Calathea G. Mey. ‘Silhouette’ and Stromanthe sanguinea Sond. from transplanting to marketable sizes in a shaded greenhouse. The daily ET<inf>A</inf> per Calathea plant ranged from 3.55 mL to 59.39 mL with a mean cumulative ET<inf>A</inf> of 4.84 L during a 224 day growth period. The daily ET<inf>A</inf> of S. sanguinea varied from 7.87 mL to 97.27 mL per plant with a mean cumulative ET<inf>A</inf> of 6.81 L over a 231 day production period. The best fit models for predicting daily ET<inf>A</inf> of Calathea and Stromanthe were developed, which had correlation coefficients (r2) of 0.82 and 0.73, respectively. The success in modelling ET<inf>A</inf> of the two species suggested that the canopy closure model was suitable for quantifying water use of container-grown greenhouse plants. Applying the research-based ET<inf>A</inf> information in production could reduce water use and improve irrigation efficiency during Calathea and Stromanthe production.
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