黄淮海地区冬小麦-夏玉米生育期内水分供需时空变化特征

为明确影响黄淮海地区作物需水的关键气象因子及其变化特征,基于该地区的66个国家标准气象站点1987—2016年长时间序列的逐日观测资料,采用敏感性分析、因子趋势检测和GIS空间分析等方法,定量计算冬小麦-夏玉米生育期内的有效降水量(Pe)、作物需水量(ETc)及灌溉需水量(ETaw),分析1987—2016年黄淮海区冬小麦-夏玉米水分供需的时空变化特征以及ETc对不同气象因子的敏感性差异。研究表明,1987—2016年冬小麦生育期内Pe远不能满足其生长需求,年均ETaw达264mm,特别冬小麦生育期内Pe呈较明显的下降趋势,伴随气温不断升高,使其面临较严重的水分亏缺;而夏玉米生育期与Pe耦合度高,年均ETaw仅为79mm。黄淮海地区北部为冬小麦ETc和ETaw的高值区,南部ETaw相对较低,但1987—2016年增加趋势明显。相对湿度和气温对ETc的影响最大,其次是平均风速和日照时数,相对湿度的减少和气温的显著升高都将导致ETc的增加。     

华北棉区棉花需水量时空变化研究

为分析气候变化背景下华北地区棉花需水量和水分生态适宜性时空变化特点,本研究利用华北棉区47个气象站点逐日气象数据,通过SIMETAW模型分析1986—2015年棉花生育期需水量(ETc)、有效降雨量(Pej)和灌溉需水量(ETaw)及变化趋势。结果表明:近30年来,棉花生育期需水量和灌溉需水量呈减小趋势,生育期有效降雨量呈增加趋势;6—8月棉花需水量最大,不同站点月均需水量在80~160mm;7月和8月是棉花灌溉需水量最小的月份,华北棉区平均灌溉需水量接近零,灌溉需水量最大的月份是6月,多年平均灌溉需水量为56.50mm;华北棉区地下水超采区与非超采区灌溉需水量分别为144.41和70.41mm,降水量的不同是造成这种差异的主要原因;华北棉区棉花生育期多年平均需水量、有效降雨量和灌溉需水量分别为560.19、467.32和98.75mm,棉花一年一熟制的灌溉需水量小于传统的冬小麦-夏玉米模式,而经济收益大于春玉米一年一熟制,在华北地区超采区适当增加棉花的种植面积,有利于缓解华北地区水资源缺乏的现状。     

河套灌区参考作物蒸发蒸腾量估算方法研究

参考作物蒸发蒸腾量（ET₀）是计算作物需水量的基础,一般用FAO推荐的Penman-Monteith公式（PM公式）计算。但是在河套灌区部分地区缺少辐射数据的观测,因而无法利用PM公式计算ET₀。本文选用河套灌区临河气象站1990—2012年的气象资料,分析了利用PM公式计算参考作物蒸发蒸腾量ET₀与气象要素的关系,发现对ET₀影响最大的气象因素为净辐射,其次为饱和水气压差和平均温度。建立了基于饱和水气压差、温度和风速的ET₀估算公式,验证结算显示相关系数、纳什效率系数和总量平衡系数分别为0.96、0.92、1.00。在风速缺测的条件下,也建立了基于饱和水汽压差和温度的ET₀估算公式。以上两个公式为河套灌区缺资料条件下ET₀的估算提供了简单且准确的估算方法。     

Spatiotemporal Characteristics of Reference Evapotranspiration and Its Sensitivity Coefficients to Climate Factors in Huang-Huai-Hai Plain,China

Climate change will have important implications in water shore regions, such as Huang-Huai-Hai (3H) plain, where expected warmer and drier conditions might augment crop water demand. Sensitivity analysis is important in understanding the relative importance of climatic variables to the variation in reference evapotranspiration (ET₀). In this study, the 51-yr ET₀ during winter wheat and summer maize growing season were calculated from a data set of daily climate variables in 40 meteorological stations. Sensitivity maps for key climate variables were estimated according to Kriging method and the spatial pattern of sensitivity coefficients for these key variables was plotted. In addition, the slopes of the linear regression lines for sensitivity coefficients were obtained. Results showed that ET₀ during winter wheat growing season accounted for the largest proportion of annual ET₀, due to its long phenological days, while ET₀ was detected to decrease significantly with the magnitude of 0.5 mm yr^?1 in summer maize growing season. Solar radiation is considered to be the most sensitive and primarily controlling variable for negative trend in ET₀ for summer maize season, and higher sensitive coefficient value of ET₀ to solar radiation and temperature were detected in east part and southwest part of 3H plain respectively. Relative humidity was demonstrated as the most sensitive factor for ET₀ in winter wheat growing season and declining relativity humidity also primarily controlled a negative trend in ET₀, furthermore the sensitivity coefficient to relative humidity increased from west to southeast. The eight sensitivity centrals were all found located in Shandong Province. These ET₀ along with its sensitivity maps under winter wheat-summer maize rotation system can be applied to predict the agricultural water demand and will assist water resources planning and management for this region.     

冀中南多样化种植模式的适水效应分析

为优化冀中南作物种植结构,本研究以河北省典型地下水漏斗区邢台市为例,基于作物需水SIMETAW模型系统量化1965—2018年冬小麦、春棉花、春玉米、夏谷子、夏大豆和春绿豆等10种主要农作物的生育期需水量与灌溉需水量,针对当地不同降水年型和水资源条件以及不同作物的生育期、生长发育特点和前后茬作物的农学特性等构建11种不同的种植模式,分析不同种植模式需水及降水耦合度等参数。结果表明:1)各作物年均生育期需水量表现为春棉花(515.2mm)冬小麦(466.6mm)春玉米(424.9mm)春油葵(420.0mm)春甘薯(362.1mm)春马铃薯(354.2mm)夏大豆(313.9mm)夏玉米(298.7mm)春绿豆(288.1mm)夏谷子(217.5mm)。2)各作物年均生育期灌溉需水量表现为冬播作物春播作物夏播作物。冬小麦年均生育期灌溉需水量最大,为329.2mm;夏谷子最低,为82.8mm。3)传统麦玉一年两熟制周年需水量最大(753.4～780.3mm),相比之下,多样化轮作模式的生育期需水量可显著降低15%～34%,生育期灌溉需水量明显降低9%～32%。春玉米-冬小麦-夏玉米、春玉米-冬小麦-夏谷子、春甘薯-冬小麦-夏玉米和春甘薯-冬小麦-夏谷子等两年三熟制在丰水年、平水年和枯水年下的生育期需水量、灌溉需水量和周年需水量均较低。春绿豆-夏谷子一年两熟模式的年均生育期需水量最低,为504.4mm,年均生育期灌溉需水量为286.8mm。因此,在保证粮食安全的前提下,为减缓河北省地下水位持续下降的趋势,发展适水种植模式是节水农业的重要途径之一。     

Seasonal Variation of Moisture Availability at Water-wind Erosion Crisscross Region in Northern Loess Plateau China

The objectives of the current study were to estimate evapotranspiration（ET） over the grassland and assess seasonal variation of moisture availability at the wind-water erosion crisscross region in the northern Loess Plateau of China. The Liudaogou Catchment which has the representative climatic and hydrological characteristics of the wind-water erosion crisscross region was chosen as the study location. The reference crop evapotranspiration（ET 0） was estimated by Penmen method, which was recommended by FAO56 and the evapotranspiration over the grassland（ET） was estimated by Penmen-Monteith equation using the observed meteorological data with time unit of 1 h. The soil moisture availability factor was defined by m a =ET/ET 0. The calculated results for 2006 indicated that the total ET 0 was slightly more than the total yearly precipitation and ET accounted for 37 % of that, ET increased distinctly after the intensive rainfall event in the rainy season. Most of the m a was less than 0.4 and its annual mean was 0.34. It was expected that the results provided a basis for studies on dynamic functional analysis of soil moisture, relationship between soil water and crop growth at the wind-water erosion crisscross region in the northern Loess Plateau.     

Software for estimating reference evapotranspiration using limited weather data

The FAO-56 Penman-Monteith combination equation (FAO-56 PM) has been recommended as the standard equation for estimating reference evapotranspiration (ET₀). The FAO-56 PM equation requires the numerous weather data that are not available in the most of the stations. The main goal of this paper is to present the software for estimating reference evapotranspiration, focusing on the feature of using limited weather data. This is simple Windows-based and user-friendly software provides methods to estimate extra-terrestrial radiation, maximum sunshine hours, daily net radiation and daily/monthly ET₀. The program is written in C# and includes comprehensive technical documentation. The software is available for free download.The weather data for this study were obtained from CIMIS for Davis weather station. The reduced-set FAO-56 PM approaches and adjusted Hargreaves equation were compared to the full-set FAO-56 PM equation. The FAO-56 reduced-set PM ET₀ estimates were in closest agreement with FAO-56 full-set PM ET₀ estimates. The adjusted Hargreaves equation (AHARG) was found to be in very good agreement with the full-set FAO-56 PM. This program is the first software facilitating calculation of ET₀ only with air temperature parameter.     

"蒸发悖论"在秦岭南北地区的探讨

潜在蒸散量(ET0)是大气蒸发的估计值,已经广泛应用于灌溉管理和无实测蒸发资料地区的估算.分析ET0的时空变化是研究水资源对气候变化响应的基础工作,同时对于农业水资源的优化利用也具有重要意义.根据秦岭南北47个气象站1960-2011年逐日数据,利用FAO Penman-Monteith公式计算出各站的潜在蒸散量(ET0),研究了气温、降水与ET0之间的长期变化趋势关系,对导致ET0下降的主要原因进行了讨论,着重对秦岭南北地区是否存在“蒸发悖论”进行验证.结果表明:(1)秦岭南北整体气温经历了先降后升的变化过程,1993年为突变年份,1960-1993年的降温速率和1994-2011年的升温速率均表现出由南向北递减的规律,1960-2011年整体升温速率由北向南递减.(2)1979年和1993年是ET0变化的转折点,以1979和1993为界ET0经历了“升—降—降”的变化阶段.1960-1979年仅汉水流域和巴巫谷地存在“蒸发悖论”现象,1980-1993、1994-2011和1960-2011年3个时段区域整体和各子区均发现了“蒸发悖论”现象.秋季后18a和52a整体以及冬季前34a和52a整体均存在“蒸发悖论”现象,冬季最为明显.(3)近52年整体降水表现出不显著的下降趋势,相较于年尺度,夏季降水与ET0逆向变化趋势更为明显.(4)年尺度上,太阳辐射(日照时数)下降引起的潜热通量减少是造成ET0下降即“蒸发悖论”现象的主要原因.季节尺度,春季ET0下降的主导因素为风速,其它季节均为太阳辐射(日照时数).     

新疆塔里木盆地北缘日参考作物腾发量计算模型评价

采用4种常用的腾发量模型(Makkink模型,Turc模型,Priestley-Taylor模型以及Hargreaves模型)计算日腾发量,并以Penman-Monteith FAO 56公式计算结果为标准值进行对比,旨在寻找出建模数据少、模拟精度高以及适合研究区的腾发量计算模型。结果表明:Turc模型的日参考作物蒸发蒸腾量与Penman-Monteith FAO 56差异较小,其次是Makkink模型与Priestley-Taylor模型,Hargreaves模型的差异最大。     

Estimating daily actual evapotranspiration of a rice–wheat rotation system in typical farmland in the Huai River Basin using a two-step model and two one-step models

The objective of this study is to evaluate the performance of three models for estimating daily evapotranspiration(ET) by employing flux observation data from three years(2007, 2008 and 2009) during the growing seasons of winter wheat and rice crops cultivated in a farmland ecosystem(Shouxian County) located in the Huai River Basin(HRB), China. The first model is a two-step model(PM-K_c); the other two are one-step models(e.g., Rana-Katerji(R-K) and advection-aridity(AA)). The results showed that the energy closure degrees of eddy covariance(EC) data during winter wheat and rice-growing seasons were reasonable in the HRB, with values ranging from 0.84 to 0.91 and R2 of approximately 0.80. Daily ET of winter wheat showed a slow decreasing trend followed by a rapid increase, while that of rice presented a decreasing trend after an increase. After calibrating the crop coefficient(K_c), the PM–K_c model performed better than the model using the K_c recommended by the Food and Agricultural Organization(FAO). The calibrated key parameters of the R-K model and AA model showed better universality. After calibration, the simulation performance of the PM-K_c model was satisfactory. Both the R-K model and AA model underestimated the daily ET of winter wheat and rice. Compared with that of the R-K model, the simulation result of the AA model was better, especially in the simulation of daily ET of rice. Overall, this research highlighted the consistency of the PM-K_c model to estimate the water demand for rice and wheat crops in the HRB and in similar climatic regions in the world.     

Using data on soil ECa,soil water properties,and response of tree root system for spatial water balancing in an apple orchard

The study aims at spatial analysis of water deficit of fruit trees under semi-humid climate conditions. Differences of soil, root, and their relation with the spatial variability of crop evapotranspiration (ET_a) were analyzed. Measurements took place in a six hectare apple orchard (Malus x domestica ‘Gala’) located in fruit production area of Brandenburg (latitude: 52.606°N, longitude: 13.817°E). Data of apparent soil electrical conductivity (ECa) in 25 cm were used for guided sampling of soil texture, bulk density, rooting depth, root water potential, and volumetric water content. Soil ECa showed high correlation with root depth. The readily available soil water content (RAW) was calculated considering three cases utilizing (i) uniform root depth of 1 m, (ii) measured values of root depth, and (iii) root water potential measured during full bloom, fruit cell division stage, at harvest. The RAW set the thresholds for irrigation. The ET_a was calculated based on data from a weather station in the field and RAW cases in high, medium and low ECa conditions. ET_a values obtained were utilized to quantify how fruit trees cope with spatial soil variability. The RAW-based irrigation thresholds for locations of low and high ECa value differed. The implementation of plant parameters (rooting depth, root water potential) in the water balance provided a more representative figure of water needs of fruit trees Consequently, the precise adjustment of irrigation including plant data can optimize the water use.

     

基于气象参数的内陆干旱区作物生育期ET0预测

为实现大田作物灌溉的精细化管理,研究了基于气象因素的生育期ET₀预测模型。采用灰色理论对ET₀与日均、日最高、最低温度,日均风速,相对湿度以及日照时数进行灰色关联度分析,结果表明ET₀与温度（包括日均、最高、最低温度）及相对湿度的灰色关联度较高。在分析ET₀与上述气象因素间的相关系数基础上,采用日均温度、日均风速以及日照时数作为模型的输入,ET₀作为输出,建立了BP神经网络（BPNN）预测模型;采用日均温度、日均风速、日照时数及灰色关联度作为输入,建立了模糊最小二乘支持向量机（FLSSVM）预测模型。研究结果表明,BPNN模型的训练值决定系数为0.8643,平均相对误差6.29%,预测值决定系数为0.8099,平均相对误差7.83%;FLSSVM模型的训练值决定系数为0.9684,平均相对误差2.89%;预测值决定系数为0.9663,平均相对误差3.43%。BP神经网络与FLSSVM模型的精度均较高,可以用来预测ET₀日值,这为大田作物的精细化灌溉管理提供理论与技术支持。     

北疆棉花膜下滴灌耗水规律的研究

在3种灌溉量(2 850、3 900、4 950m3/hm2 )下研究了棉花膜下滴灌各生育期的耗水量与耗水强度.结果表明棉花的耗水量随着灌量的增加而增大,在北疆滴灌棉花适宜的灌溉量为3 900 m3/hm2,棉花最大蒸散量出现在花铃期,其中开花-吐絮期,耗水量240.96 mm,最大耗水时段为现蕾-吐絮,日均耗水量3.29～4.15 mm.棉花根系主要吸水层在0～60 cm土壤深度,高灌溉量棉花的吸水强度在0～40 cm大于低灌溉量,而在40～60 cm恰恰相反 .高灌溉量下棉花蕾期以前的土壤蒸发强度增大,干物质生产能力并没有相应增加,适当调节蕾期以前的灌溉量可以提高水分的利用效率.     

气象因素对民勤地区参考作物腾发量变化的贡献分析

利用世界粮农组织的Penman-Monteith方法以及敏感曲线分析法,对甘肃国家级地面站点民勤站1968—2018年来的参考作物腾发量和气象因素的变化规律及各气象因子对参考作物腾发量变化的贡献大小进行了研究。结果表明:1)民勤站参考作物腾发量ET0年内变化特征呈抛物线形式,在1—5月增加,8—12月递减,7月达到最大值为5.29mm/d,年际变化整体呈波动上升趋势;2)利用相关性分析与主成分分析发现ET0与平均最高气温Tmax、平均饱和水汽压差VPD的相关性最大,利用偏相关性分析发现ET0与平均风速U、平均净辐射与土壤热通量的差Rn-G的相关性最小,但ET0与U、Rn-G的偏相关性较大,说明ET0与U、Rn-G的关系受其他气象因素的影响较大;3)气象因素的年内变化与ET0对各气象因素的敏感系数在年内的变化趋势有一定的相似度。ET0对Rn-G的敏感系数不大,但是由于Rn-G自身的增长幅度较大,导致Rn-G对ET0增长的贡献率最大;平均气温T和VPD对ET0的增长也产生了一定的贡献;U对ET0的增长产生了较大的负贡献。     

Service-oriented approach for modeling and estimating reference evapotranspiration

Software used for estimating reference evapotranspiration (ET₀) has been developing in various directions. The main goal of this paper is to present an approach based on Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA) paradigm for modeling and estimating ET₀. The FAO-56 Penman-Monteith (FAO-56 PM) and Hargreaves equation are used for estimating monthly ET₀.The weather data for this study were obtained from CIMIS for Davis weather station. The FAO-56 PM and Hargreaves ET₀ values estimated using ET Web service were compared to corresponding CIMIS PM ET₀ estimates. The proposed model based on Web services implemented to the FAO-56 PM and Hargreaves equations has good performances and can be used in estimating ET₀ and has ability to complete missing weather data.     

Using high resolution UAV thermal imagery to assess the variability in the water status of five fruit tree species within a commercial orchard

This paper deals with the assessment of heterogeneity in water status in a commercial orchard, as a prerequisite for precision irrigation management. Remote sensing-derived indicators could be suitable for mapping water stress over large areas, and recent studies have demonstrated that high resolution airborne thermal imagery enables the assessment of discontinuous canopies as pure tree crowns can be targeted, thus eliminating the background effects. Airborne campaigns were conducted over a drip-irrigated commercial orchard in Southwestern Spain composed of five different orchard tree crops. An unmanned aerial vehicle with a thermal camera onboard was flown three times during the day on 8 July 2010, at 9, 11 and 13 h (local time). Stem water potential was measured at the same time of the flights. In some irrigation units, irrigation was stopped prior to the measurement date to induce water deficits for comparative purposes. Several approaches for using the thermal data were proposed. Daily evolution of the differential between canopy and air temperature (T _c  ? T _a ) was compared to tree water status. The slope of the evolution of T _c  ? T _a with time was well correlated with water status and is proposed as a novel indicator linked with the stomatal behavior. The Crop Water Stress Index (CWSI) was calculated with the temperature data from the 13.00 h flight using an empirical approach for defining the upper and lower limits of T _c  ? T _a . The assessment of variability in water status was also performed using differences in relative canopy temperatures. Ample variability was detected among and within irrigation units, demonstrating that the approach proposed was viable for precision irrigation management. The assessment led to the identification of water-stressed areas, and to the definition of threshold CWSI values and associated risks. Such thresholds may be used by growers for irrigation management based on crop developmental stages and economic considerations.     

基于FAO-56双作物系数法估算农田作物蒸腾和土壤蒸发研究——以西北干旱区黑河流域中游绿洲农田为例

【目的】确定中国西北干旱区黑河流域中游绿洲农田蒸散量并区分作物蒸腾和土壤蒸发,为制定合理的作物灌溉制度和提高区域水资源利用效率提供依据。【方法】本文利用中科院临泽内陆河流域研究站绿洲内部大田玉米地2009年的小气候和土壤蒸发等综合观测试验数据,运用FAO-56和ASCE推荐的两种时间步长的四种不同形式的Penman-Monteith模型估算了甘肃临泽绿洲玉米农田2009年参考蒸散量,并结合FAO-56双作物系数法估算了其实际蒸散量。【结果】4种P-M模型FAO-56-PM 24h、ASCE-PM 24h、FAO-56-PM 0.5h及ASCE-PM 0.5h和双作物系数法估算的实际蒸散量依次为672.1、766.2、991.2和805.6 mm。【结论】利用涡动相关数据及小型蒸渗仪实测数据对其进行了检验,结果表明,使用FAO-56-PM 24h模型估算参考作物蒸散量的参考作物蒸散-双作物系数法能够较好估算研究区的蒸散量并有效地区分农田作物蒸腾和土壤蒸发。2009年研究区域农田制种玉米的耗水量大约为671.2 mm,日均蒸散量为4.1 mm,其中作物蒸腾累积量为498.5 mm,土壤蒸发累积量为172.7 mm,分别占蒸散量的74.2%和25.8%。     

不同灌溉水平下气象因子对草地早熟禾蒸散量的影响

[目的]研究不同灌溉水平下气象因子对草地早熟禾蒸散量的影响。[方法]以田间持水量为标准,用称重法控制土壤含水量并测量草地早熟禾蒸散量,利用Watchdog气象仪记录实时气象数据,研究在不同灌溉水平下草地早熟禾蒸散量及其动态,并研究草地早熟禾蒸散量与气象因子的关系。[结果]充分灌溉条件下草地早熟禾的蒸散量明显大于限制灌溉;除了8月限制灌溉草地早熟禾日蒸散量呈双峰型外,其他草地早熟禾日蒸散量均呈单峰型,且峰值均出现在当天气温最高值之前;月蒸散量随太阳辐射和气温的减小而逐月减少。草地早熟禾蒸散量受太阳辐射和气温的影响最显著,与相对湿度呈负相关关系,与风速的正相关性较不显著。[结论]该研究为草地早熟禾的栽培提供科学依据。     

不同灌溉方式对生菜蒸发蒸腾量及作物系数的影响

为了解云南省滇中地区生菜生育期内蒸发蒸腾量、作物系数、水分利用效率对微喷灌、不覆膜滴灌和覆膜滴灌的响应规律,于2020年11月至2021年1月、2021年11月至2022年1月在云南省灌溉试验中心站开展了生菜灌溉试验。结果表明：对于蒸发蒸腾量及日蒸发蒸腾强度而言,在全生育期及各生育阶段覆膜滴灌模式下最大,其次为不覆膜滴灌,最小为微喷灌。覆膜滴灌、不覆膜滴灌和微喷灌模式下全生育期蒸发蒸腾量,2020年分别为82.1、60.2和52.0 mm;2021年分别为88.4、77.2和72.8 mm。生菜作物系数,在全生育期覆膜滴灌模式下最大,其次为不覆膜滴灌,最小为微喷灌;在各生育阶段,不同年景生菜作物系数变化规律存在差异。受灌溉方式的影响,覆膜滴灌下的生菜产量及水分利用效率大于不覆膜滴灌和微喷灌,不覆膜滴灌下的生菜产量及水分利用效率大于微喷灌。覆膜滴灌、不覆膜滴灌和微喷灌模式下生菜水分利用效率,2020年分别为45.65、42.01和41.58 kg·m^-3,2021年分别为50.33、45.86和36.82 kg·m^-3。     

Neural network modeling of greenhouse tomato yield, growth and water use from automated crop monitoring data

The recent development of tools to automatically monitor important crop attributes in situ such as yield, growth and water use offers an opportunity to relate real-time crop status to current environmental conditions. In this study, continuous minute-by-minute measurements of crop yield, growth and water use averaged over weekly, daily, or hourly intervals throughout the growing season were used to determine crop response to changes in the greenhouse environment. The data were obtained from crop monitoring stations established in both commercial and research greenhouses. Crop yield measurements obtained from the monitoring system were generally in very close agreement with yields recorded over a much larger area in the commercial greenhouse. Yield was more closely related (R² = 0.65) to radiation from the previous week than to radiation in the current week (R² = 0.56). In addition, a neural network (NN) model of yield which included radiation as an input was better at predicting yield in the following week (R² = 0.70) than yield in the current week (R² = 0.57). These results indicate a lag effect of radiation on yield. Similarly, yield was more positively related to growth from the previous week (R² = 0.32) than to growth from the current week (R² = 0.17). Neural network models of daily growth at both sites (R² = 0.74, 0.69) included day of the year, temperature and CO₂ as inputs. A negative relationship between day of the year and daily growth indicates a decline in crop vigor through the measurement period. Neural network models of daily crop water use for the two sites were stronger (R² = 0.91, 0.85) than those for growth, highlighting the difference in physiological complexity between the two. A model of canopy water status as affected by environmental conditions was generated using hourly measures of tomato canopy mass change. Although the rate of canopy mass gain through the day was often constant, there were days when the plant experienced periods of reduced mass gain mid-day. On those days, the amount of deviation from a constant rate was positively related to radiation, day temperature and water use, suggesting periods of water stress. With subsequent recovery of mass gain rates late afternoon, these deviations did not affect canopy growth for the day. Overall, automated monitoring provides new information on the crop which may readily be incorporated into models of crop performance.