Evaluation of the FAO AquaCrop model for winter wheat on the North China Plain under deficit irrigation from field experiment to regional yield simulation

AgroDSS: A decision support system for agriculture and farming

https://waterfootprint.org/media/downloads/Zhuo-et-al-2016.pdf

Inter- and intra-annual variation of water footprint of crops and blue water scarcity in the Yellow River basin (1961-2009)

Growth and development of cereal crops are linked to weather, day length and growing degree-days (GDDs) which make them responsive to the specific environments in specific seasons. Global temperature is rising due to human activities such as burning of fossil fuels and clearance of woodlands for building construction. The rise in temperature disrupts crop growth and development. Disturbance mainly causes a shift in phenological development of crops and affects their economic yield. Scientists and farmers adapt to these phenological shifts, in part, by changing sowing time and cultivar shifts which may increase or decrease crop growth duration. Nonetheless, climate warming is a global phenomenon and cannot be avoided. In this scenario, food security can be ensured by improving cereal production through agronomic management, breeding of climate-adapted genotypes and increasing genetic biodiversity. In this review, climate warming, its impact and consequences are discussed with reference to their influences on phenological shifts. Furthermore, how different cereal crops adapt to climate warming by regulating their phenological development is elaborated. Based on the above mentioned discussion, different management strategies to cope with climate warming are suggested.

/pdf/the-fingerprints-of-climate-warming-on-cereal-crops-ngim0p1g1g.pdf

The fingerprints of climate warming on cereal crops phenology and adaptation options.

Assessing the performance of the FAO AquaCrop model to estimate maize yields and water use under full and deficit irrigation with focus on model parameterization

Performance evaluation of AquaCrop model for maize crop in a semi-arid environment

The water driven crop growth model AquaCrop was evaluated for predicting the yield of kharif maize (i.e. maize sown in the monsoon season) under future water availability scenarios. Future climatic data were generated using the climate data generator ClimGen, which was parameterized using 37 years (1972–2008) of historical data relating to the study area. The climatic data generated were used first in the CROPWAT model to estimate the irrigation schedule, which was then used in the validated AquaCrop model to predict grain yield for future years. Rainfall estimates generated by ClimGen for 2012 (739 mm) and 2014 (625 mm) resulted in yields of 1600 and 5670 kg/ha, respectively, under rainfed situation during these 2 years with full fertilization levels. This variation may be attributed to the depths of rainfall events and their distribution during the entire growing season in general and sensitive growth stages in particular pertaining to the same sowing date (22 July) in both years. Nonetheless, the use of ClimGen, CROPWAT and AquaCrop models can be standardized as a model-linking protocol to estimate future maize yield and irrigation water requirements for sustainable production and as an adaptation measure to climate change.

/pdf/prediction-of-maize-yield-under-future-water-availability-227q0tqwrg.pdf

M. Abedinpour

Papers

Performance evaluation of AquaCrop model for maize crop in a semi-arid environment

Prediction of maize yield under future water availability scenarios using the AquaCrop model