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Water Engineering Education & Applications
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Paper No. IRIG/11: Application of Penmans Method in computing
the crop-water requirement (ET
crop
)
Crispen Mutsvangwa MSc (Eng.,); MSc Water & Environmental Management
Copyright 2011. Water Engineering, Education & Applications

APPLICATION OF PENMANS METHOD IN COMPUTING THE CROP-
WATER REQUIREMENTS


Crop-water requirements
The crop-water requirement is the amount of water required by a plant during its
vegetation period from germination to maturity. The total amount of water required and
the timing of water applied is governed by:

Prevailing climatic conditions
Type of crop
Stage of growth
Extent of root-development
Soil type

Evaporation
Evaporation is a process whereby water is converted to water vapour and removed from
evaporating surface. Energy is required to change water molecules from liquid to vapour
and mainly from solar radiation.

Transpiration
This is the vaporization of liquid water contained in plant tissues, mainly through stomata.
Vaporisation occurs within the leaf (in the intercellular spaces) and the vapour exchange
with the atmosphere is controlled by the stomata aperture. Nearly all the water taken up
is lost by transpiration and only a tiny fraction is used within the plant.

Evapotranspiration
It is the quantity of water transpired by a plant during growth or released by plant tissue,
plus moisture evaporated from the surface of the soil and vegetation.

Reference evapotranspiration (ET
O
), mm/day
The rate of evapotranspiration from an extended surface of 8 to 15cm tall green grass
cover of uniform height, actively growing, completely shading the ground and no short of
water (Doorenbos and Pruit, 1977). However different crops can be used as reference
crops.

Crop evapotranspiration (ET
crop
), mm/day
The evapotranspiration of a disease-free crop growing in a large field (one or more
hectares) including sufficient water and fertility and achieving full production potential of

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the crop under the given growing environment. It includes evaporation of water from the
soil surface, evaporation from the plant surfaces and transpiration of water through plant
tissues into the atmosphere. Potential evaporation for different crops will not be the
same. The relationship between ET
o
and ET
crop
is given as:

o c crop
ET k ET = (1)
Where: k
c
=crop coefficient.
The values for k
c
for different crops have been derived from experiments and the values
of the crop coefficient are different for each crop (Fig. 1), and also differs with:

Stage of growth
Crop density
Crop characteristics

The k
c
values can be applied to ET
o
derived from any methods for the period under
consideration and usually between 10 to 30 days.

Irrigation water requirements
This is the depth of water needed to meet the water loss through ET
crop
.

e crop
P ET I = (2)

Where: P
e
=effective precipitation, which is the rainfall that is useful or usable in
any phase of crop production.

In engineering practice, the peak water requirements are usually predicted for 10 days or
monthly periods. Ideally, the length of the period should be the same as that of the
irrigation interval.

METHODS TO DETERMINE THE REFERENCE EVAPOTRANSPIRATION (ET
O
)

There are several methods to determine the ET
O
and these include:
direct measurements
meteorological equations
combination methods
empirical methods
pan evaporation

Direct measurement
Crops are grown in soil tanks called lysimeters and then there is periodic determination of
the root zone soil moisture and recording interval rainfall, irrigation or drainage. From the
measured data, a water balance is carried out. Such data derived from field
measurements under field conditions is more reliable and can be used for designing as
well as calibrating of empirical formulations.

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Meteorological equations/climatic
Such methods include:
mass transfer methods
infrared radiometry
tracer techniques
energy balance

Combination methods
They are based on energy balance and aerodynamic equations (radiation and
aerodynamics). According to this theory, there is continuous evaporation if:
there is supply of water to be evaporated or transpired
there is a supply of energy to provide latent heat of vaporization
Mechanism for removing the produced vapour into the atmosphere.
If well calibrated, combination methods produce better results than other methods and
one of the most comprehensive one is the Penmans method (1948), and can be applied
satisfactorily in most climatic regions.
Empirical formulae
They are based on correlation of the reference evapotranspiration (ET
O
) and
meteorological factors. Some few examples are the Thornthwaite and Blaney-Criddle
methods (Svehlik,1939).

Pan Evaporation method
The method is applicable for moderate short periods like 10 days. The evaporation pans
provide a measurement of integrated effect of meteorological factors on evaporation
under conditions of adequate water supply. The measured pan evaporation is then
related to the potential ET
O
using pan coefficients:

pan p O
E k ET = (3)
The consumptive daily use of the crop (ET
crop
) is then obtained by simply multiplying the
measured depth of evaporation in the pan by the pan coefficient and the crop coefficient:
pan c p crop
E k k ET = (4)
Where: k
p
=pan coefficient
k
c
=crop coefficient
E
pan
=pan evaporation, mm/day
The k
p
is a function of pan type, pan sitting, relative humidity, wind run and fetch distance.

Applicability of methods
Some methods produce good results for one location and unsatisfactory at other
locations. It has been found that no single method using meteorological data is

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universally adequate under all climatic conditions. However, as result of an expert
Consultation of (FAO, 1990), the FAO Modified Penmans method is now recommended
as the standard method for the definition and computation of the reference
evapotranspiration (ET
o
), All methods before use for planning and deign of irrigation
projects need local or regional calibration.

PENMANS METHOD

It applies the radiation balance plus aerodynamic approach to estimate ET
o
. Penmans
(1948) method uses the radiation balance to indicate part of energy available for
evaporation and the aerodynamic term to quantify the influence of advection. The original
equation of Penman is given as (Svehlik, 1977):

+
+
=
a
O
E H
ET (5)

Where: H =net radiation
Ea =aerodynamic term
=slope of the saturation vapour pressure curve at mean temperature
=psychrometric constant: a relation between vapour pressure deficit
and wet bulb depression
The above equation can be written as:

( ) ( ) e u f G R ET
n O

+
+
+

, mm/day (6)


radiation balance aerodynamic term

+

=weighting function for elevation and temperature

=slope of saturation vapour pressure versus temperature curve

R
n
=net radiation, mm/day
R
n
=soil heat flux + evaporation + air heat =G + E +H
G =soil heat flux, if soil is heating
f(u) = wind function
R
s
= incoming short wave (solar) radiation
R
b
=net outgoing long wave (terrestrial) radiation
=coefficient of albedo, =0.25 for FAO Modified Penman
e =vapour pressure deficit, mb

FAO Modified Penmans Method
Application of the original Penmans method revealed that it is particularly applicable to
cool limited regions like in England and also in hot and semi-arid regions. Doorenbos et
al (1984) slightly modified the equation. The modified equation uses mean daily climatic

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conditions since day and night time weather conditions considerably affect the level of
evaporation. It was developed by comparing Lysimeter- measured evaporation from
locations world-wide. Statistical analysis was performed to determine which additional
metrological parameters would reduce the error between measured and estimated
evapotranspiration.
( )

+
+
+

= e u f R c ET
n O

mm/day (7)

Or ( ) ( )( ) [ ]
a s n O
e e u f R c ET + + = 1 (8)

Where: =weighting function for the effect of radiation on ETo at different
elevation and temperature (Agritex, 1980).
1- =weighting factor for the effect of wind and humidity on ETo at
different temperature and altitudes (Table 1).
c =adjustment factor to compensate for the effect of day and night
weather conditions

The adjustment factor, c is a function of:
Relative humidity maximum, RH
max

day to night wind run ratio, U
day
/U
night

day time wind speed at 2m, U
2day

Solar radiation, R
s


Computation of the input parameters

The adjustment factor, c
The adjustment factor can be established can be computed from (Cuenca, 1989):
( ) ( )( )( )
day s
night
day
day
night
day
day s
U R RH
U
U
U
U
U
U R RH c
2 max
4
2
2
10 43 . 0 0097 . 0
013 . 0 068 . 0 018 . 0 max 0028 . 0 68 . 0

+ + + + =
(9)

Where: U
day
=mean day time wind speed at 2m

Wind function, f(u)
The wind function at a wind speed height of 2m is given as:

( )

+ =
100
1 27 . 0
2m
U
u f (10)

To convert any wind speed given at a specified height is given as:

and
2 . 0
2
2

=
Z
U U
Z m
(11)


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Where: U
z
=Wind speed at a specified height z

Vapour pressure deficit,

a s
e e e = (12)

Where: e
s
=saturation vapour pressure, mb
e
a
=mean actual vapour pressure of air, mb

100
mean s
a
RH e
e = (13)

Where: RH
mean
=mean relative humidity

The following expressions for e
x
can be used (Svehlik, 1982).

x
s
e e 1078 . 6 = , mb (14)

x
s
e e 5812 . 4 = , mmHg (15)

( ) [ ] 001316 . 0 48 8 . 1 000019 . 0 8072 . 0 00738 . 0 8639 . 33
8
+ + + =
mean mean s
T T e (16)


16 . 273
00831 . 0 8374 . 19
2
+

=
mean
mean mean
T
T T
x (17)

Where: T
mean
= mean air temperature in
o
C

Values of saturation vapour, e
s
are also given in tables as a function of T
mean
.

Net radiation, R
n


( )
b s n
R R R = 1 , mm/day (18)


bo s
R
N
n
R

+ = 61 . 0 35 . 0 , mm/day (19)

Where: Rs =total daily clear sky radiation at the surface of earth, and can be
found in tables as function of latitude.
N =maximum possible sunshine hours (can be found from tables as
function of latitude)
n =actual sunshine hours
R
bo
=net outgoing clear sky-long wave radiation


bo
so
s
b
R b
R
R
a R

+ = (20)

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( ) [ ] ( )
4 5 . 0
44 . 0 34 . 0 1 . 0 9 . 0
mean s b
T e
N
n
R

+ = (21)

Where: a, b =empirical constants
e
s
=saturation vapour pressure.

( )
2
4
min
4
T T
R
mx
bo
+
= (22)

Where: =emissivity of the surface
=Boltzmann constant (4.89995x10
-3
J/m
2
Kd

K =
O
C+273 (23)

[ ]
5 . 0
1 1 s
e b a + = (24)

Or ( ) [ ]
2 4
10 77 . 7 exp 261 . 0 02 . 0
mean
T

+ = (25)

Slope of saturation, (mb/
o
C)

[ ] 00116 . 0 8072 . 0 00738 . 0 2
7
+ =
nean
T (26)

Where: T
mean
=mean temperature of air over a period of interest,
o
C

Psychrometric constant, mb/
o
C
wet dry
a s
T T
e e

= (27)
Table 1 Values of Weighting Factor (l W) for the Effect of Wind and Humidity on ETo at
Different Temperatures and Altitudes

Temp
(
o
C)
2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30 32 34 36 38 40
altitude
(m)

0 .57 .54 .51 .48 .45 .42 .39 .36 .34 .32 .29 .27 .25 .23 .22 .20 .19 .17 .16 .15
500 .56 .52 .49 .46 .43 .40 .38 .35 .33 .30 .28 .26 .24 .22 .21 .19 .18 .16 .15 .12
1000 .54 .51 .48 .45 .42 .39 .36 .32 .31 .29 .27 .25 .23 .21 .20 .18 .17 .15 .14 .13
2000 .51 .48 .45 .42 .39 .36 .32 .31 .29 .27 .25 .23 .21 .19 .18 .16 .15 .14 .13 .12
3000 .48 .45 .42 .39 .36 .34 .31 .29 .27 .25 .23 .21 .19 .18 .16 .15 .14 .13 .12 .11
4000 .46 .42 .39 .36 .34 .31 .29 .27 .25 .23 .21 .19 .18 .16 .15 .14 .13 .12 .11 .10


Example 1

(c) Compute the crop water requirement (ET
crop
) using the FAO-Modified Penmans
method. The following meteorological data is applicable.

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Dry bulb temperature =25
o
C
Wet bulb temperature =11
o
C
Mean actual vapour pressure of air =15mb
Net outgoing long wave radiation Rb =16mm/day
Incoming short wave radiation Rs =35mm/day
Coefficient of albedo =0.25
Mean day time wind speed at a height of 1.5m =300km/day
Maximum relative humidity =85%
Minimum relative humidity =30%
Adjustment factor, C =1.2
Saturation vapour pressure =1.4mb
Crop coefficient =0.85

Solution:

From Penmans equation, the ETcrop is calculated as:

( ) ( ) ET c R f u e
o n
=
+
+
+

To convert any wind speed given at a specified height is given as:

day km
Z
U U
Z m
/ 318
5 . 1
2
300
2
2 . 0 2 . 0
2
=

=

The wind function f(u) is calculated as:

( ) 13 . 1
100
318
1 27 . 0
100
1 27 . 0
2
=

+ =

+ =
m
U
u f

C
T T
T
o
mean
5 . 21
2
15 28
2
min max
=
+
=
+
=

[ ]
43 . 1
16 . 273 5 . 21
5 . 21 00831 . 0 5 . 21 8374 . 19
16 . 273
00831 . 0 8374 . 19
2 2
=
+

=
+

=
mean
mean mean
T
T T
x

Saturation vapour pressure: mb e e e
x
s
59 . 25 1078 . 6 1078 . 6
43 . 1
= = =

Mean Relative humidity: % 5 . 57
2
30 85
2
min max
=
+
=
+
=
R R
RH
meam


Mean actual vapour pressure of air: mb
RH e
e
mean s
a
71 . 14
100
5 . 57 59 . 25
100
=

= =



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[ ] 00116 . 0 8072 . 0 00738 . 0 2
7
+ =
nean
T = [ ] 57 . 1 00116 . 0 8072 . 0 5 . 21 00738 . 0 2
7
= +

Psychrometric constant:

78 . 0
11 25
71 . 14 59 . 25
=

=
wet dry
a s
T T
e e
mb/
o
C

Vapour pressure deficit, e

mb e e e
a s
88 . 10 71 . 14 59 . 25 = = =

Net radiation, R
n


( ) ( ) day mm R R R
b s n
/ 25 . 10 16 35 25 . 0 1 1 = = =

( ) day mm ET
o
/ 11 88 . 10 13 . 1
78 . 0 57 . 1
78 . 0
25 . 10
78 . 0 57 . 1
57 . 1
02 . 1 =

+
+
+
=


11 85 . 0 = =
o c crop
ET k ET 9.4mm/day

References
1. Agritex Handbook, (1986), Department Agriculture, Zimbabwe Government
2. Doorenbos J., and Pruit W.O., (1977), Crop water requirements, FAO, Irrigation and
Drainage Paper, No. 24, Rome
3. Cuenca R., (1989), Irrigation Systems Design: An Engineering approach. Prentice
Hall. USA.
4. Jensen M. E., (1980), Design and Operation of Farm Irrigation Systems, American
Society of Irrigation Engineers, USA
5. Penman H. L., (1948), Natural evaporation from open water, bare soil and grass, Proc.
Royal Soc of London, Series A., 193, 120-146.
6. Singh V., (1995), Environmental Hydrology, Kluwer Academic Publishers, USA
7. Svehlik Z. J., (1977), Estimation of irrigation requirements, in Irrigation Development
Irrigation Development Planning, Rydzewski J. R. (Ed), University of Southampton,
UK.
8. Thornthwaite C. W., (1948), An approach towards a national classification of climate,
Geor Rev., V38 55-94
9. http://www.fao.org/