The Estimation of Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa L.) Crop Coefficients at Different Growth Stages by Lysimetric Method in Birjand Region

Water is one of the most important factors limiting agricultural developments in arid and semi-arid regions in the world. One of the important issues of water management is assessment and determination of water requirement of plants. One of the main water management strategies in agriculture is to assess and determine the plants water requirement. Due to dry and semi-arid weather conditions in Iran the optimal use of water resources is crucial. Plants water requirements are the important parts of the hydrological cycle, and its precise estimation is essential for water budget studies, facilities, management, design of new irrigation systems and water resources management. The determination of behavior and characteristics nonreference vegetation compared to reference vegetation (grass) is the first step in estimating the evapotranspiration of crops. It is important to determine the crop factor in order to measure the water requirement of the crop at different stages of growth. The crop coefficient expresses the effects of crop and soil moisture on a non-reference plant species relative to the reference plant. Among the medicinal herbs, Hibiscus sabdariffa L. is an annual tropical and sub-tropical herbaceous plant belongs to Malvaceae family. Red calyces of Roselle are a source of anthocyanins (about 1.5 g/100 g dry weight), vitamin C and other antioxidants, such as flavonoids (gossypetin, hibiscetine, and sadderetine). Roselle is a medicinal plant that cultivated in Iran especially in Sistan and Baluchestan province. Regarding the long history of cultivation, and high consumption in Iran and the world so far, there has not been a scientific report about Roselle water requirement at different stages of growth. Therefore, this research was carried out with the aim of obtaining Roselle water coefficients and studying the pattern of its changes during the growing season in dry and semi-arid climates of Birjand using the lysimetric method. To determine the Roselle crop coefficient, as a valuable medicinal herb, a lysimetric experiment was conducted in faculty of agriculture, Birjand University during the growing season in 2017. The lysimeters used for this experiment have 20 cm diameter and 16 cm in height. Three lysimeters used for sowing Roselle and three lysimeters used for reference plant. There are six orifices as a water drain in the bottom of each lysimeter. Floor of lysimeter covered by 5 cm granule layer, then filled with soil and cow decayed fertilizer mixture. In each lysimeter, 25 seeds of Roselle were sown. To determine potential evapotranspiration, 12 centimeters height grass was used as the reference plant. Water requirement of Roselle was determined by water balance method. The Roselle growth period was divided into four stages included initial (10% plant growth after emergence), development (between 10% plant growth and before flowering), middle (between early flowering and end flowering), and end (between end flowering and seed ripening). Weed control was achieved by hand hoeing during the growth season. Drainage water was measured by weighting and soil moisture hold at field capacity during the growth season. Results of this study showed that Roselle plant in the initial stage due to slow growth and low transpiration have low Kc compared to middle and development stage. The average coefficient of Roselle was 1.26, 1.55, 1.81, and 0.96 in the initial, development, middle, and end stages respectively. Duration of growth stages for Roselle in Birjand region is 35, 75, 100, and 30 days after emergence. This results revealed an increasing trend from initial to development and middle stages. However, in the end stage of Roselle, Kc decreased. The result of this study showed that evapotranspiration of Roselle was 3819.57 mm whereas the reference plant evapotranspiration was 2420.3 mm. Due to water shortage in the arid and semi-arid region, this plant is not proper for sowing in this area. According to the results of this study, the annual average evapotranspiration rate of the Roselle was 3819.57 mm whereas the reference plant evapotranspiration was 2420.3 mm. Therefore, the water requirement of Roselle is very high during growth period. Finally, according to the high water requirement and water deficient in Birjand, Iran; it seems that Roselle is not a proper plant for sowing in this area.