Energy balance in a mango orchard in Northeast of Brazil

In this paper are presented preliminary results of a field experiment with a six-year-old mango orchard (Mangifera indica L.) variety Tommy Atkins carried out in Petrolina, PE, an irrigated perimeter in Northeast of Brazil, irrigated with a drip system. Measurements started at the beginning of July and lasted till the end of November of 1998. A micrometeorological tower was built and different instruments were attached on it in order to obtain the energy balance. Four disc plates were used for measuring the soil heat flux and four sets of tensiometers were installed in order to measure the soil water balance from the surface until a depth of 1.8 m. The latent heat flux was obtained according with the energy balance based on the Bowen Ratio Method. It was selected a set of ten days, covering all phenological stages since the induced flowering stage. On average, the soil heat flux, the sensible heat flux, and the latent heat flux, corresponded to about 5%, 20% and 75% of the net radiation flux, respectively.