DETERMINATION OF THE CONSUMPTIVE USE (EVAPOTRANSPIRATION) OF GROUNDNUT (A CASE STUDY OF A GROUNDNUT FARM LAND IN AWHA IMEZI, EZEAGU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF ENUGU STATE)

ABSTRACT    The consumptive use of water assures all year round production of groundnut prone to the vagaries of weather and climate. This brought about the need to supply moisture that is naturally available through rainfall. The successful design of any irrigation system requires the knowledge of the consumptive use of water by the crop under consideration. This need led to the investigation of the water use rate of groundnut in a typical area found in Awha-Imezi of Ezeagu in Enugu State of Nigeria. Climate data required for computing or estimating consumptive use of water for groundnut using the Blaney-Criddle method were obtained from Awha-Imezi, the same area as the location of this case study. The determination was for the period of the study, April to August, 2013. Field measurements were carried out to determine the consumptive use of groundnut with the aid of a portable non-weighing lysimeter. The estimated values of consumptive use as determined by the Blaney-Criddle method were lower than those determined experimentally. It was then recommended that a more elaborate study that would spread throughout the life span of the plant be conducted to confirm the results that were obtained so far. This would be required for irrigating the crop throughout its growing season.   TABLE OF CONTENT Title page i Approval page ii Dedicationiii Acknowledgment iv Abstract  v List of tables vi  List of figures vii CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION  1.1Economic Importance of the study 1 1.2Objectives of the study 3 1.3Scope of the study 4 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1Description of the Groundnut Plant and Species 6 2.2Groundnut Cultivation9 2.2.1Cultivars 9 2.2.2Environment Response 10 2.2.3Cultural Requirements 10 2.2.4 Irrigation 13 2.2.5 Nutrient Requirements13 2.2.6 Growth Period and Harvesting 14 2.2.7 Yield 14 2.2.8 Seed production  14 2.2.9Use and Nutritional Composition 14 2.2.10    Diseases/pest Control15 2.3      Evapotranspiration (ET) 15 2.3.1Main Concept 16 2.3.2Factor Affecting ET 18 2.3.3Measurement of ET  18 2.3.3I    Soil Moisture Depletion studies  19 2.3.3 II   Lysimeter Experiments 20 2.3.3.III  Field experiment Plots 21 2.3.3.IV  Water balance Method 22 2.4Estimating ET from Evaporation Data Pan Method 27 2.5Estimating Et from Climatological data29 2.5.1Blaney-Criddle method30 2.5.2FAO Penman-Monteith Method 33 2.6Estimating Crop Coefficient  35 2.7Measurement of Soil Moisture 40 2.8Previous studies on Consumptive Use of Crops42 CHAPTER THREE    3.0Experimental Procedure 45 3.1Description of the Experiment Plot 45 3.1.1Portable Non-weighing Lysimeter and field Layout 45 3.2Characterization of soil Physical properties 48 3.2.1Textural Class48 3.2.2 Specific Gravity 49 3.2.3 Bulk Density50 3.2.4Porosity 50 3.2.5Field Capacity 51 3.2.6Permanent Wilting Point 51 3.2.7Available Moisture52 3.3 Measurement of Soil Moisture Content 52 3.3.1By Gravimetric Method 53 3.3.2 Resistance Block 53
CHAPTER FOUR: DATA PRESENTATION  AND ANALYSIS 55- 72 CHAPTER FIVE RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 72 CHAPTER SIX: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION 75 APPENDIX          77- 84 REFERENCES 85   LIST OF TABLES Table 1: The major producers of groundnut in the shell and the major producing countries. Table 2. Range of inorganic constituents occurring in peanut kernels. Table 3: Values of crop factor to compute consumptive use from pan evaporation data. Table 4: Hydrometer reading  Table 5: Soil analysis data Table 6: Soil property determination and calibration data Table 7:  Evapotranspiration data for the month Table 8: Evapotranspiration values determined by lysimeter method. Table 9:  Groundnut daily crop consumptive use for the month of April 2013. Table 10: Groundnut daily crop consumptive use for the month of May 2013. Table 11: Groundnut daily crop consumptive use for the month of June 2013.   


LIST OF FIGURES Figure 1: The pods and kernels of the Dixie Spanish and North Carolina varieties of peanuts. Figure 2: Simple drainage lysimeter (non-weighing) Figure 3: Small weighing lysimeter. Figure 4: Generalized crop coefficient curve during the growing season and stage definitions. Figure 5: Crop coefficient definition showing the basal keb, ke, and time average (keb + ke values). Figure 6: Portable non-weighing lysimeter Figure 7: Experimental field layout. Figure 8: USDA textural class. Figure 9: Calibration curve of resistance block for a sand loam soil. Figure 10: Groundnut evapotranspiration curve determined by lysimeter method.