Predicting biomass and yield of sweet pepper grown with and without plastic film mulching under different water supply and weather conditions

Evaluation of AquaCrop Model for Foxtail Millet (Setaria italica) Growth and Water Use with Plastic Film Mulching and No Mulching under Different Weather Conditions

“…In the present study, the accuracy of SWC prediction for both PM and NM were improved, which may be due to the use of an effective sampling method (seven soil layers) for SWC and a more precise soil sampling depth for foxtail millet rooting (1.6 m). These methods both reduced the sampling errors, so this study showed an acceptable result for SWC when compared with those unsatisfactory results reported by Cosic et al [5]. The simulation performance of CC development and biomass accumulation will greatly influence the simulation of SWC progression [32].…”

“…However, this result was not observed in 2015. PM obtained markedly greater yields and biomass than NM under water stress conditions in 2015, in this case, it was clear that PM played a crucial role in mitigating the adverse impact of drought and high temperatures [5].…”

“…Iqbal et al [42] proposed that there was an analogous water-use trend, but there were also certain differences between simulated and measured SWC. Cosic et al [5] simulated pepper growth using AquaCrop and observed no strong correlation between the simulated and measured data of SWC under both PM and NM conditions. In the present study, the accuracy of SWC prediction for both PM and NM were improved, which may be due to the use of an effective sampling method (seven soil layers) for SWC and a more precise soil sampling depth for foxtail millet rooting (1.6 m).…”

“…Katerji et al [38] tested the prediction of AquaCrop for corn and tomato under various water stress conditions, and wrote that the model performance was demonstrated to vary according to the level of plant water stress. Cosic et al [5] simulated the growth of sweet pepper under different weather conditions and noted that "From the above, AquaCrop often fails to produce good results for yield if there is considerable water stress at any time during the growing season." Studies of maize [10,20] and groundnut [39] also have presented results that would seem to agree with this conclusion.…”

“…Plastic film mulching (PM) is currently the principal method that is used for mulch. Many studies have reported that PM significantly improves growth, yield, and water use efficiency (WUE) for many crops, such as wheat [2], maize [3], cotton [4], and sweet pepper [5] in both rain-fed and irrigated areas.…”