Temperature-based analysis of reference evapotranspiration models for the distributary D-17 of TLBC command area, Raichur

Evapotranspiration (ET) is the simultaneous process of transfer of water to the atmosphere by transpiration and evaporation in a soil–plant system. ET is an important parameter for climatological and hydrological studies, as well as for irrigation planning and management. The present study aims to determine the best model under temperature-based models for the distributary, D-17 of TLBC command area. For this purpose, daily meteorological data for the period from 2018 to 2022 was collected used for the estimation of reference evapotranspiration by six different temperature-based models and compared with the FAO Penman–Monteith model. The best fit model was selected based on the less MAE and high R2 value for rabi and kharif season. The results revealed that, the Linacre model shows the least MAE with higher frequency and high R2 value during the rabi and kharif season in the study period 2018-2022, the results indicated that, the Linacre model can be used to estimate the ETo for distributary, D-17 when the available weather data is limited.