The coconut crop (Cocos nucifera L.) is essential in humid tropical regions, contributing to the economy and food security. However, its perennial nature makes it sensitive to climate variability, particularly extreme events that affect productivity. This study evaluated the impacts of extreme climatic events on the productivity of dwarf green coconut in northeastern Pará, analyzing rainy (PC—December to July) and less rainy (PMC—August to November) periods between 2015 and 2023. Meteorological and experimental data were used, including extreme climate variables such as maximum temperature (HT) and precipitation (HEP), defined by the 90th percentiles, and low precipitation (LP, 10th percentile). Predictive models, such as Multiple Linear Regression (MLR) and Random Forest (RF), were developed. RF showed better performance, with an RMSE equivalent to 20% of the average productivity, while that of MLR exceeded 50%. However, RF struggled with generalization in the test set, likely due to overfitting. The inclusion of lagged productivity (productivity t-1) highlighted its significant influence. During the PC, extreme high precipitation (HEP) events and excessive water surplus (HE) occurring after the fifth month of inflorescence development contributed to increased productivity, whereas during the PMC, low-precipitation (LP) events led to productivity reductions. Notably, under certain circumstances, elevated precipitation can mitigate the negative impacts of low water availability. These findings underscore the need for adaptive management strategies to mitigate climatic impacts and promote stability in dwarf green coconut production.
1 January 2025 in Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola E Ambiental
It is crucial to understand soil water evaporation, especially in coconut plantations, where soil cover directly influences this process. This study aimed to characterize and quantify the evaporation of water from the soil in a green dwarf coconut plantation under irrigated and non-irrigated conditions, occurring in the planting row and between the rows under the climatic conditions of the Eastern Amazon. The study was developed in a green dwarf coconut plantation in Santa Izabel do Pará, Brazil. Soil water evaporation was measured using microlysimeters. The experimental design was entirely randomized, with a split-plot scheme. The results were divided and analyzed into rainy and less rainy periods, and as the ANOVA assumptions were not met, the Kruskal-Wallis and Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney tests were performed (p ≤ 0.05). Soil water evaporation in the non-irrigated area was higher in both the row and the interrow compared to the irrigated area. Among the locations, soil water evaporation is greater in the row than interrows in both treatments, regardless of seasonality. The differences in soil water evaporation under the conditions analyzed can be attributed to the uncovered soil and its water dynamics, in addition to the shading caused by plant leaves, which interferes with the interception of solar radiation.
This study aimed to determine the actual crop evapotranspiration (ETc act) and the crop coefficient (Kc) of economically important fruit crops in the Amazon, under both irrigated and non-irrigated conditions. The ETc act was determined using the soil water balance method, while Kc was determined using the ratio of ETc act to reference evapotranspiration (ETo). The treatments were evaluated during the rainy period (RP) and the less rainy period (LRP). During the RP, ETc act showed no significant differences between treatments, ranging from 2.26 to 3.03 mm day−1. During the LRP, the irrigated treatment (2.91 to 4.02 mm day−1) showed higher ETc act compared to the non-irrigated treatment (1.53 to 2.87 mm day−1). For the non-irrigated treatment, only the dwarf green coconut and the acid lime had a higher ETc act in the LRP than the RP, while the açaí palm and the cocoa showed lower values during the LRP. In general, ETc act remained below ETo, with Kc values ranging from 0.81 to 0.85 during the RP and increasing to 0.89–0.93 during the LRP. Irrigation provided water support to the studied fruit crops during periods of lower rainfall, meeting the higher atmospheric demand during the less rainy period.
1 January 2026 in Revista Brasileira de Engenharia Agrícola E Ambiental
The coconut palm (Cocos nucifera L.) is a perennial fruit palm of great global socioeconomic importance. To increase production and mitigate water deficit during the less rainy season, irrigation systems have been expanded across various fruit species, especially coconut palms, which are sensitive to water deficits. This study aimed to evaluate the influence of irrigation depths, based on crop evapotranspiration, on the physical variables of the fruits, fruit yield, and water productivity (in terms of fruits and coconut water) in a commercial coconut plantation in Santa Izabel do Pará, in the state of Pará, Brazil. The experiment was conducted in the municipality of Santa Izabel do Pará (PA), using a randomized block design with six blocks and four treatments corresponding to irrigation depths of 0 (rainfed), 50, 100, and 125% of crop evapotranspiration, with 24 experimental plots. The evaluation was carried out in relation to production variables: fruit mass and fruit water volume. Fruit yield and water productivity were assessed in terms of fruit number and coconut water volume. Statistical analyses were performed at a significance level equivalent to p ≤ 0.05. The variables of fruit production and yield were influenced by irrigation. Irrigation had a positive effect on water productivity in terms of fruit production; however, no differences were observed among treatments for water volume. It is concluded that irrigation is essential to maximize the production and yield of dwarf green coconut, especially in regions with prolonged dry periods.
In spaced crop systems, understanding the interactions between different types of vegetation in the agroecosystem and solar radiation is essential for understanding surface radiation dynamics. This study aimed to both seasonally and spatially quantify and characterize the components of the solar radiation balance in the cultivation of green dwarf coconut. The experiment was conducted in Santa Izabel do Pará, Brazil, and monitored the following meteorological parameters: rainfall, incident global radiation (Rg), and net radiation (Rn). Landsat 8 satellite images were obtained between 2021 and 2023, and the estimates for global and net radiation were subsequently calculated. The resulting data were subjected to mean tests and performance index analysis. The dry season showed higher values of Rg and Rn due to reduced cloud cover. In contrast, the rainy season exhibited lower Rg and Rn totals, with reductions of 21% and 23%, respectively. In the irrigated area, a higher Rn/Rg fraction was observed compared to the non-irrigated area, with no significant differences between the row and inter-row zones. In the non-irrigated system, there were no seasonal differences, but a spatial difference between row and inter-row was noted, with the row having higher net radiation (9.95 MJ m−2 day−1) than the inter-row (8.36 MJ m−2 day−1), which could result in distinct energy balances at a micrometeorological scale. Spatially, the eastern portion of the study area showed higher global radiation totals, with the radiation balance predominantly ranging between 400 and 700 W m−2. Based on the performance indices obtained, satellite-based estimates proved to be a viable alternative for characterizing the components of the radiation balance in the region, provided that the images have low cloud cover.
4 March 2025 in International Journal of Biometeorology