Immediately after starting each year of sugarcane observations, the SWCs were 0.192m3
m−3 (corresponding to 96.0mm when converted to water depth), 0.139m3 m−3 (69.6 mm),
and 0.214m3 m−3 (107.0 mm) in 1997, 1998, and 1999, respectively. The SWC gradually
decreased toward the end of the dry season. Irrigation and small amounts of rainfall
accounted for the temporary rises during this period. At the end of the dry season, the
SWC reached 0.109m3 m−3 (54.7 mm) on 8 April 1998, 0.116m3 m−3 (58.1 mm) on 21
March 1999, and 0.140m3 m−3 (70.0 mm) on 30 March 2000. The values of 0.109 and
0.116m3 m−3 observed in 1998 and 1999, respectively, were very close to the limit of
plant-extractable soil water (0.112m3 m−3) for sandy loam (Burman and Pochop, 1994).
In the rainy season, SWC fluctuation depended largely on rainfall. The peak SWC of about
0.35m3 m−3 observed in all 3 years was assumed to be saturation. Consecutive dry days
during the rainy season resulted in rapid decreases in SWC, apparently leading to a decrease
in Kc as described below.