Agricultural Water Management, 1 (1977, published 1978) 277--291

Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company, Amsterdam -- Printed in The Netherlands

277

WATER BALANCE OF FLOODED RICE PADDIES

K.W. BROWN, F.T. TURNER*, J.C. THOMAS, L.E. DEUEL and M.E. KEENER

Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, Texas
77843 (U.S.A.)
*Texas Agricultural Experimental Station, Beaumont, Texas (U.S.A.)
Contribution of the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station. This work was sponsored in
part by EPA Grant No. $802008.
(Received 16 May 1977)

ABSTRACT
Brown, K.W., Turner, F.T., Thomas, J.C., Deuel, L.E. and Keener, M.E., 1978. Water
balance of flooded rice paddies. Agric. Water Manage., 1: 277--291.
Rice (Oryza sativa L., var. Labelle) was grown in 300 m s paddies of Beaumont clay soil
(Typic pelludert) and subjected to two management schemes of flooded rice culture. These
schemes were continuous irrigation and intermittent irrigation. Careful measurements of
irrigation, precipitation, evapotranspiration, deep percolation and runoff were made, and
the total water balance for the two water management schemes was calculated.
The results show continuous irrigation to be very wasteful of water with slightly over
1 m of irrigation water applied to supply an evapotranspirational need of 0.5--0.6 m. The
intermittent irrigation management is less wasteful but still could be improved upon. Suggestions are presented for techniques to help improve the water use efficiency and reduce
runoff losses.

INTRODUCTION
O n e s y s t e m o f m a n a g i n g rice f l o o d w a t e r is t o m a i n t a i n a c o n t i n u o u s f l o o d
from the time of seeding to just prior to harvesting. The p r i m a r y purposes of
t h e c o n t i n u o u s f l o o d is t o c o n t r o l w e e d s a n d i r r i g a t e t h e c r o p . T h e a v a i l a b i l i t y
o f h e r b i c i d e s n o w a l l o w s p r o d u c e r s t o use s h o r t f l o o d i n g p e r i o d s ( t y p i c a l l y
o n l y 24 h) e a r l y in t h e s e a s o n t o w a t e r t h e c r o p . In t h i s n o n - c o n t i n u o u s f l o o d
s y s t e m , a p e r m a n e n t 10 c m f l o o d is e s t a b l i s h e d o n l y a f t e r t h e c r o p has dev e l o p e d t o a h e i g h t such t h a t a p p r o x i m a t e l y h a l f o f t h e f o l i a g e will p r o t r u d e
a b o v e t h e w a t e r level. A f t e r t h e p e r m a n e n t f l o o d p e r i o d begins, w a t e r m a y be
a p p l i e d i n t e r m i t t e n t l y or c o n t i n u o u s l y t o m a i n t a i n t h e w a t e r level. In s o m e
cases, a c o n t i n u o u s s t r e a m m a y be a l l o w e d t o f l o w t h r o u g h t h e p a d d y . Irrig a t i o n r e t u r n f l o w f r o m rice f i e l d s will t h u s o c c u r a f t e r t h e s h o r t f l o o d i n g s at
t h e b e g i n n i n g o f t h e s e a s o n , as a r e s u l t o f r e l e a s e d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d t h e fields

278
are flooded, and as a result of release resulting to drain the fields at the end
of the season. In addition to planned releases, heavy rainfall may wash over
the levees or necessitate a deliberate release to prevent levee erosion.
Most of the measurement of water balance in rice paddies have been made
during the permanent flood. Several approaches have been utilized. Lysimeters
were used by Kung (1965) and many of the earlier researchers he cites. Evans
(1971) also used lysimeters to determine the evapotranspiration losses of
water. Micrometeorological measurements of the energy balance have been
made by Kumai and Chiba (1955), the scientists of the Research Group of
Evapotranspiration of Japan's National Institute of Agricultural Services
(1967) and Lourence and Pruitt (1971). Kato et al. (1965) utilized a leaf
chamber to compare the transpiration rates of upland and flooded rice.
The water balance of a rice field over a season may be written as:
P+I =EV+ TS+R +L

where P is the a m o u n t of precipitation, I is the depth of irrigation, E V is the

a m o u n t of water lost due to evaporation from the water surface, and to a
lesser extent from wet foliage, TS is the loss due to transpiration, R is the loss
by runoff, and L is the percolation loss. As indicated by Kung (1965), L may
be a combination of losses which occur vertically below the root zone, or
losses which result from lateral movement through the soil or through earthen
levees. The latter can result in misleading results particularly where measurements are made on isolated field plots. Average seasonal transpirational losses
(Kung, 1965) range from 0.12 to 9.8 m m / d a y , while losses to percolation
range from 0.2 to 15.6 m/day. For individual days, Evans (1971) reported
evapotranspirational losses as great as 12.4 m m / d a y . The partitioning of evaporation and transpiration will depend on canopy cover and meteorological
conditions, while L will depend on the properties of the soil. Thus, the contribution of each of these will vary from one location to another and even
from one field to another. Many of the studies in the literature have reported
on several of the parts of the water balance, but none report on all of the
components in a controlled experiment. We, therefore, undertook a comprehensive field experiment to determine the total water balance of rice paddies
subjected to either intermittent or continuous irrigation during the permanent
flood period.
MATERIALS AND METHODS
Twelve field plots each 300 m 2 were laid out in a field of Beaumont clay
soil (Typic pelludert) at the Texas A&M University Agricultural Research and
Extension Center 15 km west of Beaumont, Texas. The soil contains 48% clay
which is mostly montmorillonite particles less than 0.2 um in size (Carson and
Dixon, 1972). A schematic view of two plots is shown in Fig.1. Each plot was
isolated by earthen levees with a 90-cm vertical plastic barrier (Griffolyn type
55) in the center to prevent lateral water flow. Each plot was equipped with

279

IRRIGATION C A N A L

P 2"I ~ E

j
,,',w/

i' WITHt FLOAT V~._VE .,

.
, ~ , ~ _ J i J - - / l "~P ..........J - , "
,;-" . Z f f , s/
;?. ~
j"
/

/,:

J'/"
"

"

:"

~Water

: .+ . ~/"
L ~ ~>
. . . . ).- : ~ " .....

"L~

.~WATER

l//.',/.'.'h"
"
<

]'

~'../Jl~si.JX/
V2

;7,'
"~-',

.... .....................
:

f ~ LYSIMETER

,~'N~J, '

/.~,
,/

~:

-:

I meter surrounding
all plots

or ainage We ~l r ~' ~ ,

i
tJ l J l J / / i j j , ' i l i i I r
~illl///
,

STAGE -

OVerflow Weir-~

,~,~" . _ -

;.

/' / '/

Fig.1. Schematic diagram of two of the research plots showing water control devices.

10 overflow weir and a 45 weir used only to drain the plots. Water depth in
each plot was measured by a water stage recorder (Sevens model 68) altered
to provide a resolution of 0.05 cm of water m o u n t e d on a concret e standpipe
30 cm diameter and 120 cm tall. These had a hole below the water level to
which a 1 m length of hose was fitted to da m pen oscillations in the water level
due to wind.
Pan evaporation, rainfall, wind m ovem e nt , and solar radiation were measured
at a weather station 1 km f r om the plots. Precipitation was measured on site.
Six plots were subjected to a continuous flow irrigation scheme during the
p e r m a n e n t flood period. The 10 inflow weirs of each cont i nuous flow plot
were equipped with a constant head box and adjustable float valve. This box
and valve served to keep the water level at a constant depth behind the 10
inflow weir thus maintaining a constant inflow of 0.90 cm / day. The remaining six plots were subjected to i n t e r m i t t e n t irrigation by means of siphon
tubes. Irrigation began when the dept h of water in each plot decreased to
a b o ut 2 cm and stopped when the water level rose to the b o t t o m of the outflow weir. The mean depths of these plots were 10 cm during 1974 and 14
cm during 1975.
The rice was planted in dry soil at 100 kg/ha and irrigated to a dept h of 10
cm to induce germination. The initial flood was released after 24 h and plots
n o t flooded again until 25--30 days after emergence (when the p e r m a n e n t
flood was applied} unless the plants became moisture deficient. These are
c o m m o n water m a n a g e m e n t practices in the Texas rice belt.
Lysimeters, consisting of sheet metal boxes 120 cm 2 and 30 cm deep, were
installed in six plots by digging a 10 cm deep hole in the prepared soil which
was then repacked into each b o x after it was in place. The lysimeters were
irrigated i n t e r m i t t e n t l y by periodically removing a stopper f r o m the side to
allow water f r o m the plot to enter the lysimeter. Water stage recorders and

280

sealed standpipes as described above were c o n n e c t e d by a hose to the lysimeters in order to record the lysimeter water depths.
A covered double infiltrometer, 1.3 m 2, was equipped with a float valve
attached to a 30 cm I.D. stand pipe and was used to make additional measurements o f infiltration at the end of the 1974 season. Auxiliary measurements
included p i e z o m e t e r readings taken at three locations at a series of depths
t h r o u g h o u t the 1975 season. Early in the season, measurements were made
of the a m o u n t o f water required to wet the profile so that am ount s of water
required for initial flooding could be estimated. Ring infiltrometers were used
to achieve these measurements.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Water level data

The water stage recorders provided resolution of 0.05 cm of water depth
or b etter so that the daily pattern of water loss from each plot was traced.
Detailed data for a several day period from one plot are shown in Fig.2. This
was an i n t e r m i t t e n t l y irrigated plot, and during this time no water was flowing
o u t o f the weir. The line at 9.4 cm represents the level of the b o t t o m of the
10 weir.
During the night, the water losses due to infiltration or evapotranspiration
were very small. The major decrease in water depth occurred during the midday, and the slope again flattened during sunset. The 2.2 cm rain which occurred as a brief shower, followed by a d o w n p o u r , can be clearly seen. The
rapid drop just after the rain represents the water running out through the
10 weir.

- - I0
v

!
6!

,ll
8AM

6F'M ,/~8

8~.M

6PM 7/
19
Time

8,~M

61;M 7/101 8AM

61;M

(hours)

Fig. 2. Details o f t h e w a t e r d e p t h in an i n t e r m i t t e n t l y irrigated plot. The line at 9.4 c m

r e p r e s e n t s t h e d e p t h o f the b o t t o m o f the 10 o u t f l o w weir.

281
A continuous record of two plots, one intermittently irrigated and one continuously irrigated for 1974, are shown in Figs 3 and 4. The detail shown in
Fig.2 cannot be seen on these figures. However, general seasonal patterns are
evident. During 1974, some outflow occurred early in the season for the
intermittently irrigated plot as a result of excessive rains or over-irrigating. By
July 21, the level of water was very low, and a large irrigation overflowing the
weir was applied July 22. During the rest of the season, the rain was great
enough to keep water flowing out at all times until the paddy was drained
August 22.
The water level of the continuous flowing plot from 1974 was above the
b o t t o m of the weir and flowing out throughout the flooded period, except between June 16 and 21. Irrigation water was siphoned into the plot June 21 to
bring the level above the b o t t o m of the weir.
The difference in the diurnal pattern can be seen by comparing these plots.
For the intermittently irrigated plot when no water is flowing out the weir,
the level drops during the day due to evapotranspiration and remains nearly
constant or drops slightly during the night. For the continuously irrigated
plot, the water level drops slightly during the day, but increases again during
the night since the water continues to run into the plots.

Water storage
Water stored in the soil profile was calculated from the water depth data
in the impounded plots and the lysimeter box data during 1974 and 1975.
Since both the plots and lysimeter had a plant cover at all times, the assumption was made that all water losses from plots and lysimeter are identical,
except that the b o t t o m of the lysimeter prevented water from moving deeper
into the profile. The difference in water loss between the plots and the lysimeter boxes during periods when no water entered or flowed out of the plots
was attributed to either movement into the profiles or possibly, but less likely,
to evaporative losses from the earthen levees. Efforts were made to minimize
the exposed levee surface surrounding the plots, but it is estimated that the
soil surface was equivalent to about 1/6 of the water covered surface of the
plot. This could contribute significantly to water loss if the soil surface was
wetted from the flood water for extended periods of times.
The average water loss in excess of evaporation is shown in Fig.5 for 1974
and 1975. To further isolate the nature of the loss, the levees of one plot
were covered with plastic during the 1975 season only. Only small differences
were found between the water loss from the plastic-covered plot and the
average of those not covered. Additional field observations indicated that the
soil surface did dry out between rains. The dry surface layer, thus apparently,
prevented significant evaporative losses. The losses thus determined must then
be attributed to movement into the profile. The profile storage rate decreased
from 0.29 c m / d a y at the beginning of the season to 0.1 c m / d a y or less and was es-

Water Depth

(cm)

e'F

'~

~~~'N

Water

Depth

o~
- - ~

(cm)

RAIN

IRRIGATION

g
~] ~

~,

iN

N:

RAIN

j>
IRRIGATION

g
IRRIGATION

g
e~

RAIN

~RA;N

--RAI

~RAIN

/~

.........

7;~6

6;8

7;,8

~,;2o

6/10 6/12

7;22

7/~,4

6/14 6,/1~0

7;26

7;2.

7Ao

8;~

8;3

z
~

8,,5

8;T

e;9

a;,t

8;r3

_z

8~

8)~

8;,~

8;2

Fig.4. Seasonal p a t t e r n s of w a t e r d e p t h in c o n t i n u o u s l y irrigated plots d u r i n g 1974. T h e d a t e line r e p r e s e n t s t h e b o t t o m

o f t h e 10 o u t f l o w weir.

3"

4-

5-

C3 7-

~-

IO-

I]-

12-

13-

2-

3-

4-

,~z-

x= 8 -

I0

12

13

14-

b~
O0
CO

284

1{

JO

"~.20

~j(X/

y,

3.30

o 1974
x 1975

,40"

.50'

6/10

6120

7/I

7/10

7/20

7/30

8/I

TIME (dote)

Fig.5. The storage of water for all plots during the 1974 and 1975 growing seasons.

sentially the same during both seasons. The covered double infiltrometer used
to make measurements after the soil had been flooded for several months,
indicated water movement of less than 0.05 cm/day.
To further corroborate these measurements, the depth of the water
measured by the piezometers in 1975 is shown in Fig.6. The flood water wet
the top 10 cm within a few hours and reached 20 cm within 1 day. Three
more days were required to reach the 30 cm depth, and each increment past
there required considerably more time. By the end of the season, the saturated
zone reached only 70 cm. Piezometers to a depth of 150 cm showed no water
table through the entire period. These data indicate that water movement into
the profile was very slow, and that throughout the period of flooding, the
wetting front did not join with the water table below.
Water balance

Figs.7 and 8 show the water balance for the continuous irrigated plots
during 1974 and 1975 respectively, while Figs.9 and 10 show the water
balance for the impounded irrigated plots during 1974 and 1975. The amounts

285

'i

E
o

2O

l-IJJ

IO-

ILl 2030-

40-

6>~

6/5
I O0 flooding
starts

6>7

6r/8

6/9

DATE

60

_=
15

2"

29

JUNE

I5

2'I

219

JULY

AUGUST

DATE

Fig.6. Depth of irrigation water in rice paddies during 1975 measured with piezometers.

1974 CONTINUOUS
t
140

120
1

~
o

RAINFALL
LEACHATE

xx'~x

,T,

EVAPOTRANSPIRATION

IRRIGATION

,~x
~x~~x~x
x~x

>K TOTAL WATER

1(30

xx~

RUNOFF

~x~x

,,,2<~Kx

...."""

p~X~Xx~

o=e= =*=

x~x ~

80

~x~ ,~
~

40'

,~

~x~O~ ....

]
I

d~

. . . . . . . . o~c'a;~:~

=.~'~

~XX~

oO..."

. ..."""

,,

...""

o c~

--z~

..................................................
II

MAY

21

31

I0

20
JUNE

30

I0

20
JULY

30

19
AUG

i9

Fig.7. The water balance for the c o n t i n u o u s irrigated plots during 1974.

of r u n o f f prior to establishment of permanent flood were calculated from

data on the a m o u n t of water required to wet the soil during flooding. Calculated potential evapotranspiration following the m e t h o d suggested by Van

286

1975

x~x;(x'~'~;~
x

CONTINUOUs

7,xx
14

oI

xxX
A RAINFALL

1201

0
~

.
ICE)"

~(~<xX~<

LEACHATE
EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
IRRIGATION

TOTAL WATER

0 RUNOFF

.Xxxxxx~(
~(y.y.~xxx
K~XXX
y~x~(~

~x"~X~'

80"

"'"~"

xxX

...'
e~,e

=~aaa oo

~' 60"

""" " " "

,,,'"

oooo~

~
MAy

2(

31

I0
JUNE

20

30

IO

20

30

JULY

19
AUG

Fig.8. The water balance for the continuous irrigated plots during 1975.

Bavel (1966) was used to approximate total evapotranspirational losses between planting and permanent flood.
The cumulative evapotranspiration increased nearly linearly throughout the
season and averaged 0.55 and 0.6 cm/day for 1974 and 1975, respectively.
The evapotranspirational needs could have been supplied by rainfall alone
during 1975 had it been properly spread over the season. The 1974 rainfall
was not sufficient to meet that demand. Most of the water from the two
intense storms early in the 1975 season were lost to runoff. The rain on May
28, 29, and 30 was nearly all lost since the permanent flood had not yet been
initiated, and the levees were open. Nearly all of the 20 cm rain of July 9 was
also lost since the water levels in the paddies were high before the rain and,
consequently, most of the excess water washed over the levees.
For the impounded flow irrigation systems during both years, the water
applied approximated the evapotranspirational losses. Thus, an amount nearly
Oquivalent to the rainfall was lost to runoff from the plots.
After the initial large runoff at the beginning of the 1975 season, little
water was lost as runoff from the plots until late in the season. Even had the

29

287

1974 IMPOUNDED FLOW

A RAINFALL
140.

120'

I00'

LEACHATE

EVAPOTRANSPIRATION

RRIGATION

TOTAL WATER

RUNOFF

XX'~x~

eo~v

~xXX;<xx ~
,x~XX~ XXxx"

~60"

x~xx~xx

x<~;~~'v

~2 ~

Nx2K~Kxxx
XX K~XX

0,

:
21

II

MAY

le*e ~;K',K

,': ........ i ....

I0
20
JUNE

......

~oD o

1oeoeol

,
31

.... ",7,';m, ~'~

~,~,

,
30

.
I0

.
20

.
30

JULY

19
AUG

Fig.9. The water balance for the impounded irrigated plots during 1974.

levees been large enough to retain the rainfall of June 9, most of the water
would have had to be released since the depth would have exceeded the
height of the young plants. As a result of several excess irrigations throughout
1974 on the impounded plots, r u n o f f losses accumulated slowly throughout
the season.
The water balances of the continuous flow plots during both years are
characterized by water applications which far exceeded the evapotranspirational losses throughout the season. During 1974 the continuous irrigation
plus rainfall exceeded the evapotranspiration rate by a factor of 2.5 or more
t h r o u g h o u t the season. This resulted in large runoff losses during both seasons.
It can readily be seen that both water management systems presently in
use result in excessive irrigation return flow. Continuous irrigation is obviously a wasteful practice and increases the probability that chemicals in the water
will be lost in irrigation return flow. The impounded plot management could
have been improved by using smaller irrigations so that rainfall could have been
trapped and utilized rather than being lost. Preliminary data n o t reported
here show that withholding water at the end of the season could have reduced
the irrigation needs and the irrigation return flow without lowering the yield.
While deep floods may be necessary for some fields during the early part of
the season to kill weeds, they may not be necessary in the fields not having

288
1975 IMPOUNDED FLOW

,,t

/'

RAINFALL

LEACHATE

xxX~'x~xxx~

EVAPOTRANSRRATION

1201

IRRIGATION

TOTAL

I00"

.#.-~x~~x
xxxxxx

WATER

RUNOFF

;,x~xxx~
xx,x~xcxx~

x,XXA
xxxxxxX)<xx

8o.
xxx~

~60"

40' I
/,x~ x)<~......

2OJ

xx#

"'

.jc,~c;~;~

I . . . . . . . "~'g~,~j~B~.~68&9~
1 o~oo

O .
I

II

MAY

21

o ooooo.o.--.-.--.---o--~'"

31

"'~- ' ' " ". "

I0
20
JuNE

30

I0

20

30

JULY

19

i9

AUG

Fig. 10. The water balance for the i m p o u n d e d irrigated plots during 1975.

excessive weeds. In these cases, only enough water need be applied to completely wet the surface of the field.
The seasonal water balance for the entire growing season is given in Table
I, while the balance during the flooded period is given in Table II. As
mentioned above, a few of the values used to calculate the balance before the
permanent flood had to be estimated, thus more confidence can be placed in
the budget during the permanent flood. The inclusion of the prepermanent
flood period does not, however, change the distribution of the energy balance
greatly, and thus, the balance from the entire season will be considered in
detail.
As shown in Table I, the continuous flow management of water is very
wasteful of water. Slightly over 1 m of water was used while the evapotranspiration was 0.6 m during 1974 and 0.5 m during 1975. The intermittent irrigation managed with 0.5--0.6 m of water could also be improved upon since
the rainfall during both seasons contributed significant amounts of water.
R u n o f f losses ranged from 0.3 to over 1 m while losses to storage were very
small and losses to deep percolation were negligible.
The gross excesses of irrigation water applied to the continuously irrigated
plots are evident with over a meter of irrigation water being used to supply
crop needs of 0.59 and 0.53 m. Leachate varied from 6.5 to 12.8% of the

289

TABLE I
Water b a l a n c e in c m f r o m p l a n t i n g t o h a r v e s t i n g d u r i n g 1 9 7 4 a n d 1975 for b o t h irrigation
t r e a t m e n t s . T h e irrigation t r e a t m e n t s were n o t i m p o s e d u n t i l a b o u t 25 days a f t e r e m e r g e n c e
I n t e r m i t t e n t irrigation

C o n t i n u o u s irrigation

1974

1975

1974

1975

81.7
58.9
140.2

43.4
103.0
146.4

81.7
104.1
185.8

63.7
(45.5)
12.0
(8.6)
53.8
(38.2)
129.5
(92.2)

46.4
(31.7)
12.3
(8.4)
59.8
(40.8)
118.5
(80.9)

101.5
(54.6)
12.0
(6.5)
53.8
(28.9)
167.3
(90.0)

Gains
Rainfall
Irrigation
Total applied

43.4
52.9
96.3

Losses
Runoff
% of total
Soil storage
% of total
EVTS
% of total
Total
% of total

applied
applied
applied
applied

35.0
(36.3)
12.3
(12.8)
59.6
(61.9)
106.8
(111.0)

T A B L E II
Water b a l a n c e in c m d u r i n g t h e p e r i o d of p e r m a n e n t f l o o d for 1974 a n d 1975 for b o t h
irrigation t r e a t m e n t s . T h e p e r m a n e n t f l o o d b e g a n a b o u t 25 days a f t e r e m e r g e n c e
I n t e r m i t t e n t irrigation

C o n t i n u o u s irrigation

1974

1974

1975

1975

Gains
Rainfall
Irrigation
T o t a l applied

27.6
43.6
71.2

48.4
24.7
73.1

27.6
90.0
117.6

48.4
77.9
126.3

26.2
36.8
12.4
17.3
45.6
64.0
84.0
118.1

31.2
42.6
12.0
16.4
39.6
54.0
82.9
113.1

34.3
29.2
12.4
10.5
45.8
38.9
92.5
78.6

73.7
58.3
12.0
9.5
39.6
31.4
125.3
99.2

Losses
Runoff
% of total
Soil Storage
% of total
EVTS
% of t o t a l
Total
% of total

applied
applied
applied
applied

290
total water applied. The measured losses account ed for 80.9--111% of the
applied water t h r o u g h o u t the entire season. Storage changes in the profile
were neglected and may have c o n t r i b u t e d to some of the discrepancies, but
considering the factors involved, the agreement between gains and losses is
reasonable. The data presented here may also be of value in combination with
the concentrations of ions and pesticides used to calculate the salt balance
and the pollution hazard of irrigation return flow.
Measured evapotranspiration, evapotranspiration calculated by the m et hod
suggested by Van Bavel (1966), measured class A pan evaporation, and evaporation from a small 61-cm pan during the period of permanent flood were
compared. All the regression equations had large positive intercepts and slopes
which were much less than 1.0. The r values were n o t significant.
The reason f o r the p o o r correlation between the measured and calculated
values is n o t evident, and we may conclude that for our climate, daily losses
c a n n o t adequately be reflected by calculated evapotranspiration or measured
pan evaporation.
When the water loss was summed over the entire period during which the
rice was flooded, the results shown in Table III were in reasonable agreement.
During b o t h years, the total calculated potential evapotranspiration closely
a p p r o x i m a t e d the measured evapotranspiration. The 61-cm pan gave the
second best approximation, being slightly high both years, and the class A pan
deviated from the first for the measured total. During the 1974 season, the
class A total was 15% low while during the 1975 season, the class A pan was
51% low.

TABLE III
Total calculated, pan and measured evapotranspiration during the period of permanent
flood given in cm
1974

1975

Calculated
potential
evapotranspiration
61 cm pan
122 cmpan

43.2
55.5
40.5

39.8
42.0
28.9

Measured
evapotranspiration

47.9

40.2

291

REFERENCES
Carson, D.C. and Dixon, J.B., 1972. Potassium selectivity in certain montmorillonitic soil
clays. Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc., 36: 838--843.
Evans, G.N., 1971. Evaporation from rice at Griffith, New South Wales. Agric. Meteorol.,
8: 117--127.
Kato, I., Naito, Y., Taniguchi, R. and Kamota, F., 1965. Studies on the evapotranspiration
of crops. II. On the transpiration amount of paddy rice plants in paddy field and upland field conditions. Bull. Tokai-Kinki Natl Agric. Exp. Stn, No. 12.
Kumai, M. and Chiba, T., 1955. On the heat energy balance of the paddy field. J. Agric.
Meteorol., Japan, 8: 117--119.
Kung, P., 1965. Determining water requirement of rice by field measurement in Thailand.
Int. Rice Comm. Newslett., 14(4): 5--18.
Lourence, F.J. and Pruitt, W.O., 1971. Energy balance and water use of rice grown in the
Central Valley of California. Agron. J., 63: 827--832.
Research Group of Evapotranspiration, 1967. Evapotranspiration from paddy field. J.
Agric. Meteorol., Tokyo, 4(22): 149--158.
Van Bavel, C.H.M., 1966. Potential evaporation: The combination concept and its experimental verification. Water Resour. Res., 2: 455--467.