Crop water requirements and crop coefficients for jute mallow (Corchorus olitorius L.) using the SIMDualKc model and assessing irrigation strategies for the Syrian Akkar region

Hanaa Darouich, Razan Karfoul, Tiago B. Ramos, Ali Moustafa, Baraa Shaheen and Luis S. Pereira

Agricultural Water Management, 2021, vol. 255, issue C

Abstract: Jute mallow (Corchorus olitorius L.) is an annual crop grown for human consumption of its nutritious leaves in many regions of the world. Despite its importance for household food security and farmers’ income, reliable information on the crop’s water requirements is still quite scarce. To overcome this knowledge gap, the irrigation needs of jute mallow grown in the Akkar region in Syria were investigated. The analysis focused on a three-year period (2017–2019) where the SIMDualKc model was calibrated and validated for simulating soil water contents and computing the soil water balance in jute mallow plots irrigated with basin and drip methods. The model was further used to determine the probabilities of the demand for irrigation water in scenarios considering different crop season lengths, irrigation methods, and application depths over a longer period of 23 years (1998–2020). The SIMDualKc model was able to simulate soil water contents measured in the field plots, returning root mean square error values lower than 0.001 m3 m-3 and modeling efficiencies ranging from 0.358 to 0.812. The calibrated basal (non-stressed) crop coefficients (Kcb) were 0.15, 0.95, and 0.95 for the initial (Kcb ini), mid-season (Kcb mid), and end-season (Kcb end) stages, respectively. The crop was harvested twice per season, with the drip treatments presenting the highest water productivity and economic indicators. In contrast, the basin treatment resulted in substantial percolation losses, which affected yields and indicators. Although net irrigation requirements showed a large variation for the extremes of the long-term weather time series, differences between the years representing average water demand and those representing very high water demand were only found for the drip irrigation scenarios. This study contributes to improving irrigation water management of jute mallow in the Syrian Akkar region, and for the sustainability of local production systems.

Keywords: Crop transpiration; SIMDualKc, Soil evaporation; Soil water balance; Water productivity (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:agiwat:v:255:y:2021:i:c:s0378377421003036

DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2021.107038

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