Water Requirements of Qat (Catha edulis) Cultivation in the Central Highlands of Yemen

Abstract

Water requirements of qat (Catha edulis) under irrigated and rainfed production systems in the central highlands in Yemen were studied during 2003 and 2004 at 6 sites. The crop evapotranspiration of qat was calculated by balancing method, where the sources of evapotranspiration were irrigation water and rainfall. The amounts of crop evapotranspiation of qat during winter months were less than other months of the year under both irrigated and rainfed conditions. The maximum daily evapotranspiration was 2.5 mm during summer season. The annual crop evapotranspiration for the irrigated qat in the Yemeni central highlands was 602.8 to 786.7 mm and 412.8 to 506.2 mm for the rainfed qat. The average annual crop evapotranspiration of qat for both production systems (irrigated and rainfed) was about 553.6 mm/year.Keywords: Crop water requirement; Evapotranspiration; Qat; Central highlands; Yemen.© 2012 JSR Publications. ISSN: 2070-0237 (Print); 2070-0245 (Online). All rights reserved.doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.3329/jsr.v4i1.7544J. Sci. Res. 4 (1), 77-82 (2012)