IrrigationWorld2000

Celery

Celery can use huge amounts of water and therefore it needs to be monitored well.

Most growers have to water the modules soon after planting to get good, quick establishment. Then for some weeks the crop will have enough water and will grow down, sometimes to considerble depths. The irrigation requiements will depend on this rooting depth and soil type.

This table could represent a medium loam soil.

Depth	% Water or mm per 10cm	Total	Available to plant
Top 10cm	35% or 35mm	Top 10cm - 35mm	17mm?
20cm	35% or 35mm	Top 20cm - 70mm	35mm
30cm	35% or 35mm	Top 30cm - 105mm	53mm
40cm	35% or 35mm	Top 40cm - 140mm	65mm
50cm	35% or 35mm	Top 50cm - 175mm	75mm

It can be seen that the available water will depend very much on the rooting depth.

The following table shows the very different figures for a sandy soil

Depth	% Water or mm per 10cm	Total	Available to plant
Top 10cm	15% or 15mm	Top 10cm - 15mm	8mm?
20cm	15% or 15mm	Top 20cm - 30mm	15mm
30cm	15% or 15mm	Top 30cm - 45mm	22mm
40cm	15% or 15mm	Top 40cm - 60mm	30mm
50cm	15% or 15mm	Top 50cm - 75mm	35mm

When monitoring water in celery it is imperative to know this rooting depth and the available water. The following graphs shows 'normal' water use in celery with good water use down to 30cm. Depending on soil type and condition this could well increase to 50cm

Thse graph on the left shows the water use in a mature crop of celery at 20cm and on the right the water use in the top 10cm. As you can see there is three times a smuch water use in the top10cm. This will quickly run out and even though there is plenty of water below the top 10cm the plant could well become stressed, causing quality problems.

This shows why it is so important to monitor 'correctly'. A device that only measures at 20cm and below will be of no use to grow the 'best' crop.


This graph shows that the water use before the irrigation was minimal - too dry - only 20% moisture or less. Note, however, how the water use (stepping) increases after the irrigation. The water content goes back up to 'full' and the plant is able to grow quicly again. -see water use theory.

{back to the index}