Using soil-water-plant models to improve the efficiency of irrigation

Abstract

Crop irrigation is just as essential to agriculture in Central Asia as it is in parts of Eastern and Central Europe. Model-based tools for computerised irrigation scheduling have been under development for several decades in northeast Germany. Having been tested, they are now operational as part of the on-site farm irrigation management process. One of these, the ZEPHYR soil-water-plant model, is presented here and is evaluated against the practical requirements for improving irrigation water use efficiency, meeting crop demand for water and preventing soil salinisation in the context of an irrigated barley crop in southern Kazakhstan.