Evapotransiration of crops and mechanical soil composition in Rhodes island

The aim of this paper is to evaluate the green (from rainfall) and blue (from irrigation) evapotranspiration of the most widespread crops (olives, citrus, soft and hard wheat, watermelons/melons, barley, grapes, vegetables, winter/summer and spring potatoes, fodder crops, rest annual crops) in the geographical area of Rhodes island. While the soils of the island belong to the same category, according to the classification "USDA Texture Classification" and could be roughly considered as a homogeneous medium soil (loam) in CROPWAT software, a separation takes place in four categories, in order to investigate whether the evapotranspiration of crops varies, even in the same ground category, depending on the relation of the mechanical soil composition. Furthermore a comparison takes place with the medium soil default value of CROPWAT. The examination included the separation of irrigated and rainfed crops at the scale of municipal unit. Calculations were made on the basis of the irrigation schedule approach, which includes a dynamic water balance of the soil profile and monitors soil moisture content over time.