Evaluating the water productivity by Aquacrop model of wheat under irrigation systems and algae

Abstract

One of the most important simulation models in the field of water produc"tivity (WP) management in the world is the Aquacrop model, which depends on many factors and conditions related to climate, soil, irrigation water, etc. Aquacrop model program simulates vegetative growth and the yield of both grains, biomass and irrigation WP. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the Aquacrop model of two Egyptian wheat varieties, Gemeza-9 (G-9) and Misr-1 (M-1), under the two modern irrigation systems, sprinkler and drip, and the application of algae solution. Experiment location of fieldwork for this research was in El-Nubaria area, El-Beheira Governorate, and Aquacrop in Egypt. Results obtained show that under both irrigation systems, the deviation percentages between simulated by Aquacrop and observed WP values were 40.6% and 68.34%, in the case of using untreated algae and treated algae, respectively. From LSD 0.05% values, there are significant differences between all study factors (irrigation system, wheat varieties, and applied algae). Moreover, the interactions between all factors were significant under wheat grain yield of two varieties but no significant differences were found under observed or simulated WP by the Aquacrop model. It can be concluded that it is possible to recommend to use the Aquacrop simulation model for different wheat varieties in the future, to predict the WP in these semi-arid areas, especially under different irrigation systems (Bradford and Hsiao 1982; Entz et al. 1992; Johnston et al. 2002; Heng et al. 2009; Araya et al. 2010; Bennett and Harms 2011).