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Calibration, testing and application of the AquaCrop model for bean crop under irrigation regimes

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Abstract

Crop growth simulation models relate the soil–water-plant-atmosphere components to estimate the development and yield of plants in different scenarios, enabling the identification of efficient irrigation strategies. The aim of this study was to calibrate crop coefficients for a common bean cultivar (IAPAR 57) and assess the AquaCrop model's efficacy in simulating crop growth under different irrigation regimes (T0 – non-irrigated, T1—fully irrigated, and T2—deficit irrigated) and sowing dates (S1—March 21, S2—April 24, and S3—August 23). Successful calibration was achieved for crop seasons with suitable temperatures to crop growth (S1 and S3). However, during periods with suboptimal temperatures (April 24 season), coupled with reduced irrigation supply (T0 and T2), the AquaCrop model did not appropriately account for the combined effects of thermal and water stresses. Despite adjustments to stress coefficients, this led to an overestimation of crop growth and yield. In long-term simulations, the model successfully replicated the variability of crop water availability over cropping seasons, reflecting the impact of precipitation variations. It recommended irrigation strategies for the study region (irrigate at depletion of 120 and 170% of readily available water for sowing on March 21 and August 24, respectively) to achieve high crop yield (> 2,769 kg ha−1) and water productivity (1,050 to 1,445 kg m−3) with minimal application depths (< 150 mm). While acknowledging the need for improvements in thermal stress calculations, the AquaCrop model demonstrates promising utility in studies and applications where water availability significantly influences crop production.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Agricultural and Veterinary Sciences, São Paulo State University (Unesp), Via de Acesso Prof. Paulo Donato Castellane, S/N, São Paulo, Jaboticabal, CEP 14884-900, Brazil

    Wenderson Nonato Ferreira da Conceição, Rogério Teixeira de Faria, Anderson Prates Coelho, Luiz Fabiano Palaretti & Alexandre Barcellos Dalri

  2. Federal Institute of São Paulo, Barretos Campus, Av. C- Um, 250 – Bairro - Res. Ide Daher, São Paulo, Barretos, 14781-502, Brazil

    Eduardo Pinheiro de Freitas

Authors
  1. Wenderson Nonato Ferreira da Conceição
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  2. Rogério Teixeira de Faria
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  3. Anderson Prates Coelho
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  4. Luiz Fabiano Palaretti
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  5. Alexandre Barcellos Dalri
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  6. Eduardo Pinheiro de Freitas
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Contributions

Conceptualization, W.N.F.C. and R.T.F..; Methodology, W.N.F.C. and R.T.F.; Formal analysis, W.N.F.C., R.T.F. and A.P.C.; Investigation, W.N.F.C., R.T.F. and A.P.C.; Data curation, W.N.F.C., L.F.P. and A.B.D.; Writing – Original draft preparation, W.N.F.C., R.T.F. and A.P.C.; Writing – review & editing, L.F.P., A.B.D. and E.P.F.; Supervision, R.T.F.

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Correspondence to Anderson Prates Coelho.

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da Conceição, W.N.F., de Faria, R.T., Coelho, A.P. et al. Calibration, testing and application of the AquaCrop model for bean crop under irrigation regimes. Int J Biometeorol (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00484-024-02699-1

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