A field trial has been organized on a chernozem soil in the southern part of the Pannonian Plain, the Vojvodina Province, northern Serbia. The trial included several potato cultivars whose yields are presented at the level of general average. Sprinkler irrigation was used at three levels of pre-irrigation soil moisture: 60%, 70% and 80% of field water capacity ( FWC ). The control plot was not irrigated. Potato yields were highly significantly increased by irrigation. The increases were 70% in semiarid years and threefold in dry years. Highest yields were obtained with the pre-irrigation soil moisture of 70% FWC, which evidently was the lower limit of the optimum soil moisture for potatoes. The rate of water consumption for evapotranspiration of potatoes tended to increase with the increases of pre-irrigation soil moisture. Highest yields were achieved with the water consumption rate of 460 – 480 mm. This amount corresponded to the water requirement of potatoes grown under the local conditions

evapotranspiration, potato, pre-irrigation soil moisture

Presentation: oral