Water Requirement of Solanaceous Vegetable Crops in Kashmir Valley

Studies on water balance and irrigation at agricultural areas require accurate values of reference evapotranspiration. The values obtained can help farmers to determine the water requirement of these vegetable crops so that proper irrigation can be applied according to its growth stage and weather condition. The objective of this study was to calculate water requirements for four Solanaceous vegetable crops: Tomato, Potato, Chilli and Brinjal grown in temperate conditions of Kashmir Valley. Water requirements were calculated using the FAO-56 Penman-Monteith Method. The total water requirement for tomato, potato, chilli and brinjal was found 458 mm, 286 mm, 343 mm and 410 mm respectively. The maximum water was required by all crops during the mid-season stage comprising nearly 45-60% of the total water requirement of the crop.