CropET is a Windows program developed at IAS-CSIC and Universidad de Cordoba aimed at calculating evapotranspiration and irrigation requirements, taking into account weather, crop data, salinity and economic factors. The program is available in 4 languages (English, Spanish, French and Portuguese) and includes the manual and reading materials. Tutorials in English are also available in Youtube.

The program offers a wide list of crops to add to the rotation. For each crop the program will show different alternatives for sowing dates and cycle. The data of durations of the four stages (FAO method) and the crop coefficients may be modified. The user has to supply the selling price of the harvested product. Maximum yield is calculated using radiation interception. Actual yield will be affected by salinity and water deficit using the equation of Stewart’s.

The user has to select weather data, soil type and decide if soil water is going to be depleted by the end of the cycle. Then the program will show the calculated seasonal ET, ET₀, effective rainfall (FAO method) and net crop water requirements. The effect of salinity is also taken into account.

Additional information required is the method of irrigation and its uniformity, the initial soil electrical conductivity (EC), the cost per kWh energy, the EC of irrigation water and its cost excluding energy. Default parameters for each irrigation method are shown and may be changed by the user. Finally, the program calculates the amount of irrigation that maximizes the marginal profit.  At any time, the user may access a weather generator for producing daily values of meteorological variables.

Contact: fvillalobos@uco.es; alopez@ias.csic.es

To know more about it: https://www.uco.es/fitotecnia/cropET.html