Aquacrop Model Evaluation for Generation of Irrigation Requirements for Winter Wheat Cultivars

Abstract

Researches on the water-saving techniques in agriculture should be brought forward because of water resources shortages. The optimisation of irrigation strategies to increase water-use efficiency is an important factor in water security for the region. AquaCrop model based on FAO’s crop water productivity is used to simulate yield. In our study, the model was calibrated to the field measurements of the MATE ÖVKI Lysimeter Research Station. Four winter wheat cultivars were cultivated under non-limiting water range. Four different average yields were measured as 6.1 t/ha, 5.0 t/ha, 6.3 t/ha and 7.6 t/ha after the harvest on 6th of July 2020, respectively. The results of vegetative growth were inserted and simulated for the same climate conditions, field management, soil profile and groundwater parameters. Whereas we have achieved a yield of 6,1 t/ha 5,0 t/ha, 6,3 t/ha and 7,6 t/h with respective water productivity of 1.17 and 1.07 and 1.23 and 1.2 from the AquaCrop model schedule, respectively. In practice, water optimisation based on climate data and crop yield can help us achieve the goal. The crop cycle of the plants was a fixed value of 187 days and harvest index of 45% was used in model settings. Generation of sprinkler irrigation schedule developed from this research would provide information for farming communities to mitigate the occurrence of the adverse effect of climate change through innovative changes.