Energy Balance, Leaf Emission and Radiation Use Efficiency by Sugarcane Under Cultivation with and without Straw

Abstract In recent decades there has been a change in the system of harvesting and management of straw in sugarcane fields all over Brazil, aiming to comply with current legislation and reduce costs. The crop residues deposition on the soil, however, modifies the micrometeorological characteristics of the crop environment. This work reports a study conducted in Juazeiro-BA to evaluate the effect of field straw maintenance on the energy balance, development and radiation use efficiency by sugarcane. Micrometeorological and crop measurements were made between September 2015 and July 2016. The magnitude and seasonality of the latent, sensible and soil heat fluxes were affected by the presence of straw (p < 0.0001) with a change in the LE/Rn from 84% to 64%, H/Rn from 12% to 35% and G/Rn from 4% to 2%, in that order, for the cultivation without and with straw. The air temperature was higher in the straw crop after the canopy closure, while the air relative humidity was increased only in the first months. The modification of the microclimate due to the maintenance of the straw altered the leaf emission speed of the sugarcane, but little affected the radiation use efficiency by crop (~ 2.51 g MJ-1).