SUMMARY An experiment was performed at the Campus of the Federal University of Santa Maria, Brazil. Water consumption during the crop cycle and different subperiods was determined applyng water balance methods. The results indicate that: a) the subperiods with greater water demand are stolonization, tuberization and tuber development; b) water consumption during the crop's cycle was 524.9mm, 493.8mm and 348.5mm for treatments at lower limit of water availability, with a tension of 45 kPa, 85 kPa and unirrigated control, respectively.
irrigation management; potato; transpiration
