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ABSTRACT
The objective of this study was to determine the effect of different soil water
tensions on banana growth, production and water use efficiency. The experiment was carried
out from November 2005 to April 2007, in a Cambisol, located in the Irrigation District of
Jaguaribe-Apodi, Limoeiro do Norte - CE (latitude 05 ° 08 'S, longitude 37 ° 59' W, altitude
160 m). It was used the banana cultivar Pacovan Ken, irrigated by microirrigation. It was
adopted the experimental design of randomized blocks, with four treatments and four
replications. The treatments consisted of starting irrigation when soil water tension in the crop
root zone (0-0.4 m) reached 15, 30, 45 and 60 kPa. A closed loop automatic control system ,
consisting of sensors, multiplexers, a datalogger and a load controller, was used to monitor the
soil water tension and control irrigation, by triggering a water pump when the soil water
tension reached the level pre-established for each treatment. Three electrical resistance type
granular matrix sensors (model Watermark ) were installed in each plot at a distance of 0.50
m of plants, at depths of 0.15, 0.30 and 0.50 m. The crop was evaluated during two cycles for
growth (height and circunference of the pseudostem); fruit production (number of fruit per
palm, number of fruits per bunch, number of palms per bunch, average weight of the fruit and
fruit yield) and water use efficiency. The variables plant height and circumference of the
pseudostem were significantly reduced (P