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Performance of the FAO AquaCrop model for wheat grain yield and soil moisture simulation in Western Canada

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  • Mkhabela, Manasah S.
  • Bullock, Paul R.

Abstract

Wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is the major grain crop grown in western Canada (Canadian Prairies) and soil water stress is considered the main limiting factor for crop growth. The objective of this study was to adapt and test the ability of the FAO developed AquaCrop model (v3.0) to simulate spring wheat yield and total soil water content (0–120cm layer) on the Canadian Prairies. Crop yield and soil water content data collected from five experimental sites across the Canadian Prairies from 2003 through 2006 were used in the study. Results showed that the AquaCrop model can be used to model both wheat grain yield and soil water content on the Canadian Prairies with acceptable accuracy. Overall, the relationship between observed and modelled wheat grain yield for all sites combined produced a R2 of 0.66, slope of 0.96, index of agreement (d) of 0.99, root mean square error (RMSE) of 743kgha−1 and mean absolute error (MAE) of 611kgha−1. Similarly, the comparison between observed and modelled soil water content yielded a R2 of 0.90, slope of 0.73, d of 0.99, RMSE of 49mm and MAE of 40mm. The difference between observed and modelled grain yield was only 3%, while that between observed and modelled total soil water was 2%. Consequently, AquaCrop can be a valuable tool for simulating both wheat grain yield and soil water content on the Canadian Prairies, particularly considering the fact that the model requires a relatively small number of explicit and mostly intuitive input data which can be readily available or easily collected. However, the performance of the model has to be evaluated and fine-tuned under a wider range of conditions, which we hope will be the next step.

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  • Mkhabela, Manasah S. & Bullock, Paul R., 2012. "Performance of the FAO AquaCrop model for wheat grain yield and soil moisture simulation in Western Canada," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 110(C), pages 16-24.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:110:y:2012:i:c:p:16-24
    DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2012.03.009
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    7. Pereira, Luis S. & Paredes, Paula & Rodrigues, Gonçalo C. & Neves, Manuela, 2015. "Modeling malt barley water use and evapotranspiration partitioning in two contrasting rainfall years. Assessing AquaCrop and SIMDualKc models," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 159(C), pages 239-254.
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    15. Toumi, J. & Er-Raki, S. & Ezzahar, J. & Khabba, S. & Jarlan, L. & Chehbouni, A., 2016. "Performance assessment of AquaCrop model for estimating evapotranspiration, soil water content and grain yield of winter wheat in Tensift Al Haouz (Morocco): Application to irrigation management," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 163(C), pages 219-235.
    16. Seyed Ahmadi & Elnaz Mosallaeepour & Ali Kamgar-Haghighi & Ali Sepaskhah, 2015. "Modeling Maize Yield and Soil Water Content with AquaCrop Under Full and Deficit Irrigation Managements," Water Resources Management: An International Journal, Published for the European Water Resources Association (EWRA), Springer;European Water Resources Association (EWRA), vol. 29(8), pages 2837-2853, June.
    17. Li Fawen & Zhang Manjing & Liu Yaoze, 2022. "Quantitative research on drought loss sensitivity of summer maize based on AquaCrop model," Natural Hazards: Journal of the International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, Springer;International Society for the Prevention and Mitigation of Natural Hazards, vol. 112(2), pages 1065-1084, June.
    18. Dhouib, M. & Zitouna-Chebbi, R. & Prévot, L. & Molénat, J. & Mekki, I. & Jacob, F., 2022. "Multicriteria evaluation of the AquaCrop crop model in a hilly rainfed Mediterranean agrosystem," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 273(C).
    19. Emmanuel Lekakis & Athanasios Zaikos & Alexios Polychronidis & Christos Efthimiou & Ioannis Pourikas & Theano Mamouka, 2022. "Evaluation of Different Modelling Techniques with Fusion of Satellite, Soil and Agro-Meteorological Data for the Assessment of Durum Wheat Yield under a Large Scale Application," Agriculture, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-23, October.
    20. Wellens, Joost & Raes, Dirk & Traore, Farid & Denis, Antoine & Djaby, Bakary & Tychon, Bernard, 2013. "Performance assessment of the FAO AquaCrop model for irrigated cabbage on farmer plots in a semi-arid environment," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 127(C), pages 40-47.
    21. Yang, Huicai & Wang, Huixiao & Fu, Guobin & Yan, Haiming & Zhao, Panpan & Ma, Meihong, 2017. "A modified soil water deficit index (MSWDI) for agricultural drought monitoring: Case study of Songnen Plain, China," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 125-138.
    22. Mustafa, S.M.T. & Vanuytrecht, E. & Huysmans, M., 2017. "Combined deficit irrigation and soil fertility management on different soil textures to improve wheat yield in drought-prone Bangladesh," Agricultural Water Management, Elsevier, vol. 191(C), pages 124-137.
    23. Dutta, B. & Grant, B.B. & Campbell, C.A. & Lemke, R.L. & Desjardins, R.L. & Smith, W.N., 2017. "A multi model evaluation of long-term effects of crop management and cropping systems on nitrogen dynamics in the Canadian semi-arid prairie," Agricultural Systems, Elsevier, vol. 151(C), pages 136-147.

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