This study was conducted to establish a simple convenient method for calculating crop coefficient, and provide a certain basis for the research of the empirical formula for calculating crop coefficient with plant height which could be measured conveniently with regional differences, especially for the establishment of accurate irrigation schedule of potato in Yunnan. By the field experiment on potato under the condition of drip irrigation, it was found that the models of plant height with corrected FAO-56-recommended K and measured K were a quartic polynomial and a cubic polynomial, respectively, and the polynomial of potato plant height with measured crop coefficient was simpler with higher degree of fitting; and the differences between the period with the highest change rate of potato plant height and the periods with the greatest FAO-56-recommended K and measured K exhibited a differences of 3 d. In conclusion： In the future study of simple or empirical formula calculation of crop coefficient, plant height should be considered as a main dependent variable in that the calculation result would be closer to the measured crop coefficient with the problem of regional difference existing in the FAO method solved and the formula might be simpler; and the irrigation time of potato should be 3 d earlier than the irrigation time determined according to the corrected FAO-56-recommended crop coefficient, especially in the key water requirement stages of potato.
