Crop water use and stage-specific crop coefficients for irrigated cotton in the mid-south, United States

• Daily cotton evapotranspiration and reference evapotranspiration were estimated.
• Stage-specific cotton crop coefficients were developed for irrigation scheduling.
• Findings were compared to previous studies in other parts of the world.
• Local crop coefficients vary from FAO-adjusted values by 6–26%.
• Variations in local crop coefficients necessitate the need for its development.

Regional variations in environmental conditions, cultivars, and management practices necessitate locally derived tools for crop water use estimation and irrigation scheduling. A study was conducted in northeast Louisiana (mid-south US) aimed at estimating daily crop evapotranspiration (ETc) and reference evapotranspiration (ETo) and thus, developing local crop coefficient (Kc) curves for irrigated upland cotton. ETc was determined using paired weighing lysimeters installed near the middle of a 1-ha cotton field and planted with cotton as in the rest of the surrounding field, while ETo was calculated using the Standardized Reference Evapotranspiration Equation (SREE) developed by the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), using estimates of weather variables from a nearby standard reference weather station. Stage-specific Kc values averaged over 2 years were 0.42, 1.25 and 0.70 for initial, midseason, and end season stages of cotton, respectively. The initial-stage Kc value was approximately 26% lower than the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)-adjusted initial Kc value. The mid- and end-season Kc values obtained in the study were approximately 6% and 11% greater, respectively, than the FAO-adjusted Kc values for the corresponding stages. The observed differences among the local stage-specific Kc values (especially at initial growth stage of cotton) and the FAO-adjusted initial Kc values could be attributed to regional variations in environmental conditions, cultivars, and management practices. The ETc and Kc values obtained from this study provide research-based information for future studies and the development of Kc-based irrigation tools in this region.