Calibration and Evaluation of Aquacrop for Maize <i>(Zea Mays L.)</i> under Different Irrigation and Cultivation Methods

Abstract

Crop models of simulation are utilised effectively to evaluate the management of irrigation strategies which help in managing the water use. The aim of this study was to verify the validity of the Aquacrop model of maize under the surface and sprinkler irrigation systems, and a cultivation system, borders and furrows, and for two varieties of Maze (Fajr and Drakma) at two different sites in Iraq, i.e. the Babylon and Al-Qadisiyah governorates. The current study conducted an experiment to evaluate the Aquacrop model capacity in simulating canopy cover (CC), biomass (B), dry yield, harvest index (HI), and water productivity (WP). The results of RMSE, R2, MAE, d, NSE, CC, Pe indicated good results and high compatibility between the measured and simulated values. The highest achieved results were identical to the method of sprinkler irrigation due to the decrease in the amount of water consumed and the furrows cultivation method as the aerial roots were covered and the cultivar was Drakma. The highest values for the statistical data were R 2 (90 and 96%), RMSE (0.60, 0.73), MAE (0.5, 0.67), d (0.97, 0.97), NSE (0.87, 0.90), for the Babylon and Al-Qadisiyah sites, respectively. As for the CC values, they were very compatible with the values of R 2 and ranged between (92-99)%. The prediction error was Pe and minor errors were found. Thus, the Aquacrop model can be used reliably to evaluate the effectiveness of proposed irrigation management strategies for maize.

Assessment of Soil Quality and Health Using Some Physical and Biological Properties for Fadak Farm Project

“…Soil bulk density was estimated using the core method according to the Blake and Hartge method described in (37). Porosity was calculated through the mathematical relationship between both the bulk and particle density as stated by (23) and according to the following equation.…”

Spatial Distribution of Soil Quality and Health Index for the Umm Al-Naaj Marsh in Maysan

“…Figure (8) shows the spatial distribution of the fertility soil quality index. After measuring the physical, chemical, biological and fertility traits of the soil and extracting the soil quality and health varieties from it ,The extracted varieties were adopted in the extraction of the quality and health index varieties for the aforementioned traits combined and by relying on the extracted varieties for each trait individually .Soil characteristics affect in an interactive manner, where the physical characteristics of soil such as texture, bulk density and others clearly affect chemical characteristics such as salinity, ionic exchange capacity and organic matter, on the other hand, these physical and chemical characteristics affect the bi traits, such as bacterial assemblies, in a clear manner, as shown below; [14,15] also affects vegetation coverage and soil respiration. Fertility traits such as organic matter, available nitrogen, available phosphorous and available potassium are all affected by physical, chemical and biological factors.…”

Sustainability of Agricultural Productivity of Potato Crop in Desert Soils and Evaluation of Water Productivity Under Drip Irrigation System with Future Climate Changes

“…These interactions affect the number and type of carbon molecules a plant produces, where these molecules are stored, and, most importantly for the study of climate change, The plant's ability to withstand low-carbon atmospheres, high temperatures, and low water and nitrogen. As photosynthesis processes are directly relevant to studies of global climate change because C3 and C4 plants respond differently to changes in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, changes in temperature and water availability, and the fact that this potato crop from C3 plants leads to improved photosynthesis performance and increased use efficiency Water and nitrogen [16].This affects the water balance and photosynthesis of crops directly or indirectly by directly affecting physiological processes and indirectly by influencing various crop growth factors such as relative humidity, wind speed, soil temperature and evapotranspiration [17].…”