The leaf area index (LAI) is relevant in studies of phenomena at different scales, such as for the leaf to canopy scale and the calculation of the extinction coefficient of photosynthetically active radiation (kPAR), providing input for the parameterization of physiological basis models. The objective of this work was to verify the variation of the LAI and the coffee kPAR subjected to different drip irrigation levels (130, 100, 70, and 40%) and to compare the data obtained from radiation bar linear sensors (SunScan) in the plants that received full irrigation with the values found by other LAI estimation methodologies. The study was conducted in Piracicaba, São Paulo State, Brazil, using the species Coffea arabica cv. Red Catuaí IAC 144; a drip irrigation system was adopted, with the irrigation controlled by tensiometry. The mean LAI values were higher in the L130 (irrigation level of 130%) and L100 (irrigation level of 100%) treatments than those with deficit irrigation depths. The mean kPAR values were lower for the L130 and L100 treatments than the values found in the deficit irrigation depth treatments. When comparing SunScan to other methodologies, the mean error (ME) and absolute mean error (AME) were high.

Knowledge of how certain crops respond to water stress is one of the prerequisites for choosing the best variety and best management practices to maximize crop water productivity (WP_c). The selection of a more efficient protocol for managing irrigation depths throughout the cultivation cycle and in the maturation process at the end of the growth period for each sugarcane variety can maximize bioethanol productivity and WP_c for bioethanol, sugar and biomass, in addition to the total energy captured by the sugarcane canopy in the form of dry biomass. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of four irrigation depths and four water deficit intensities on the maturation phase for eight sugarcane varieties under drip irrigation, analyzing the responses related to WP_c for bioethanol, sugar and biomass. These experiments were conducted at the University of São Paulo. The plots were positioned in three randomized blocks, and the treatments were distributed in a factorial scheme (4 × 8 × 4). The treatments involved eight commercial varieties of sugarcane and included four water replacement levels and four water deficits of increasing intensity in the final phase of the crop season. It was found that for each variety of sugarcane, there was an optimal combination of irrigation management strategies throughout the cycle and during the maturation process. The RB966928 variety resulted in the best industrial bioethanol yield (68.7 L·Mg⁻¹), WP_c for bioethanol (0.97 L·m⁻³) and WP_c for sugar (1.71 kg·m⁻³). The energy of the aerial parts partitioned as sugar had a direct positive correlation with the availability of water in the soil for all varieties. The RB931011 variety showed the greatest potential for converting water into shoots with an energy of 1.58 GJ·ha⁻¹·mm⁻¹, while the NCo376 variety had the lowest potential at 1.32 GJ·ha⁻¹·mm⁻¹. The productivity of first-generation bioethanol had the highest values per unit of planted area for the greatest water volumes applied and transpired by each variety; this justifies keeping soil moisture at field capacity until harvesting time only for WR100 water replacement level with a maximum ethanol potential of 13.27 m³·ha⁻¹.