Soil salinity in Aceh after the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami

The 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami inundated about 37,500 ha of coastal farmland in Aceh, and crops planted after the tsunami were severely affected by soil salinity. This paper describes the changes of soil salinity over time on tsunami affected farms and the implications for resuming crop production after natural disasters.Soil salinity and salt leaching processes were assessed across the tsunami affected region by measuring soil apparent electrical conductivity (ECa) using an electromagnetic induction soil conductivity instrument (EM38) combined with limited soil analysis. The ECa was measured 5 times between August 2005 and December 2007 in both the vertical (EMv) and horizontal (EMh) dipole orientations at 23 sites across Aceh. The level of salinity and direction of salt movement were assessed by comparing changes in mean profile ECa and relative changes in EMv and EMh.Eight months after the tsunami the average soil salinity in the 0-1.2 m soil depth varied from ECe 22.6 to 1.6 dS m⁻¹ across sites in the affected region and three years after the tsunami it varied from 13.0 to 1.4 dS m⁻¹. Soil salinity tended to be higher in rice paddy areas that trapped saline tsunami sediments and held seawater for longer periods. Leaching of salts occurred slowly by both vertical displacement and horizontal movement in surface waters. Hence, soil salinity persisted at a level which could reduce crop production for several years after the 2004 tsunami. High soil salinity persisted three years after the tsunami even though there had been more than 3000-7000 mm of accumulated rainfall to leach salts. The slow leaching is likely to have been due to the loss of functional drainage systems and general low relief of the affected areas.Monitoring of soil salinity with EM38 assisted local agricultural extension agencies to identify sites that were too saline for crops and determine when they were suitable for cropping again. The methodology used in this study could be used after similar disasters where coastal agriculture areas become inundated by seawater from storm surges or future tsunamis.     

Effects of salinity and fertigation practice on cotton yield and N recovery

The purpose of optimal water and nutrient management is to maximize water and fertilizer use efficiency and crop production, and to minimize groundwater pollution. In this study, field experiments were conducted to investigate the effect of soil salinity and N fertigation strategy on plant growth, N uptake, as well as plant and soil ¹⁵N recovery. The experimental design was a 3 × 3 factorial with three soil salinity levels (2.5, 6.3, and 10.8 dS m⁻¹) and three N fertigation strategies (N applied at the beginning, end, and in the middle of an irrigation cycle). Seed cotton yield, dry matter, N uptake, and plant ¹⁵N recovery significantly increased as soil salinity level increased from 2.5 to 6.3 dS m⁻¹, but they decreased markedly at higher soil salinity of 10.8 dS m⁻¹. Soil ¹⁵N recovery was higher under soil salinity of 10.8 dS m⁻¹ than those under soil salinity of 6.3 dS m⁻¹, but was not significantly different from that under soil salinity of 2.5 dS m⁻¹. The fertigation strategy that nitrogen applied at the beginning of an irrigation cycle had the highest seed cotton yield and plant ¹⁵N recovery, but showed higher potential loss of fertilizer N from the root zone. While the fertigation strategy of applying N at the end of an irrigation cycle tended to avoid potential N loss from the root zone, it had the lowest cotton yield and nitrogen use efficiency. Total ¹⁵N recovery was not significantly affected by soil salinity, fertigation strategy, and their interaction. These results suggest that applying nitrogen at the beginning of an irrigation cycle has an advantage on promoting yield and fertilizer use efficiency, therefore, is an agronomically efficient way to provide cotton with fertilizer N under the given production conditions.     

Soil salinity related to physical soil characteristics and irrigation management in four Mediterranean irrigation districts

Irrigated agriculture is threatened by soil salinity in numerous arid and semiarid areas of the Mediterranean basin. The objective of this work was to quantify soil salinity through electromagnetic induction (EMI) techniques and relate it to the physical characteristics and irrigation management of four Mediterranean irrigation districts located in Morocco, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey. The volume and salinity of the main water inputs (irrigation and precipitation) and outputs (crop evapotranspiration and drainage) were measured or estimated in each district. Soil salinity (EC_e) maps were obtained through electromagnetic induction surveys (EC_a readings) and district-specific EC_a-EC_e calibrations. Gravimetric soil water content (WC) and soil saturation percentage (SP) were also measured in the soil calibration samples. The EC_a-EC_e calibration equations were highly significant (P < 0.001) in all districts. EC_a was not significantly correlated (P > 0.1) with WC, and was only significantly correlated (P < 0.1) with soil texture (estimated by SP) in Spain. Hence, EC_a mainly depended upon EC_e, so that the maps developed could be used effectively to assess soil salinity and its spatial variability. The surface-weighted average EC_e values were low to moderate, and ranked the districts in the order: Tunisia (3.4 dS m⁻¹) > Morocco (2.2 dS m⁻¹) > Spain (1.4 dS m⁻¹) > Turkey (0.45 dS m⁻¹). Soil salinity was mainly affected by irrigation water salinity and irrigation efficiency. Drainage water salinity at the exit of each district was mostly affected by soil salinity and irrigation efficiency, with values very high in Tunisia (9.0 dS m⁻¹), high in Spain (4.6 dS m⁻¹), moderate in Morocco (estimated at 2.6 dS m⁻¹), and low in Turkey (1.4 dS m⁻¹). Salt loads in drainage waters, calculated from their salinity (EC_dw) and volume (Q), were highest in Tunisia (very high Q and very high EC_dw), intermediate in Turkey (extremely high Q and low EC_dw) and lowest in Spain (very low Q and high EC_dw) (there were no Q data for Morocco). Reduction of these high drainage volumes through sound irrigation management would be the most efficient way to control the off-site salt-pollution caused by these Mediterranean irrigation districts.     

Single and dual crop coefficients and water requirements for onion (Allium cepa L.) under semiarid conditions

The objectives of this study were to determine onion water requirements with a sprinkler irrigation system, the most usual irrigation method in Spain. A weighing lysimeter was used to measure single (Kc) and dual (Kcb + Ke) crop coefficient curves and obtain the relationship between Kc-ground cover (GC) and Kcb-GC. Experimental work was carried out in 2005 at “Las Tiesas” farm, located in Albacete (Central Spain). To determine actual onion evapotranspiration (ETc), we used a weighing lysimeter with continuous electronic data recording. Daily measured ETc values obtained by the lysimeter were compared to calculated ETc values obtained through the standard FAO methodology [Allen, R.G., Pereira, L.S., Raes, D., Smith, M., 1998. Crop evapotranspiration. Guidelines for computing crop water requirements. FAO Irrig. and Drain. Paper 56. Rome, Italy]. Seasonal evapotranspiration measured in the lysimeter (893.34 mm) was higher than the seasonal ETc calculated by FAO-56 method (832.90 mm). The percentage of GC was found through the supervised classification technique of digital photographic images with the maximum probability algorithm [Calera, A., Martínez, C., Melia, J., 2001. A procedure for obtaining green plant cover: relation to NDVI in a case study for barley. Int. J. Remote Sensing, 22, 3357-3362]. The values derived from lysimetric measurements are Kc ini: 0.65, Kc mid: 1.20 and Kc end: 0.75, similar to values given in FAO-56. Lysimetric measurements showed that the evaporative component was high during the growing season, due to the high frequency of irrigation and the fact that the onion crop does not completely cover the ground; maximum GC was 72%. Therefore, the dual crop coefficient was calculated, which allowed differentiation between crop transpiration (basal crop coefficient, Kcb) and evaporation from the soil (evaporation coefficient, Ke). With the aim of facilitating extrapolation of the results to other areas, Kc and Kcb were linearly correlated to fractional GC.     

Simulation of winter wheat evapotranspiration in Texas and Henan using three models of differing complexity

Crop evapotranspiration (ET) is an important component of simulation models with many practical applications related to the efficient management of crop water supply. The algorithms used by models to calculate ET are of various complexity and robustness, and often have to be modified for particular environments. We chose three crop models with different ET calculation strategies: CROPWAT with simple data inputs and no calibrations, MODWht for intensive inputs and limited calibrations, and CERES-Wheat with intensive inputs and more calibrations for parameters. The three crop models were used to calculate ET of winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) grown at two experimental sites of China and US during multiple growing seasons in which ET was measured using lysimeter or soil water balance techniques. None of the models calculated daily ET well at either Bushland or Zhengzhou as indicated by high mean absolute differences (MAD > 1.1 mm) and root mean squared errors (RMSE > 2.0 mm). The three models tended to overestimate daily ET when measured ET was small, and to underestimate daily ET when measured ET was large. The fitted values of daily crop coefficients (K_c), calculated from daily ET and reference ET (ET_o), were very similar to those of Allen et al. (1998) [Allen, R.G., Pereira, S.L., Raes, D., Smith, M., 1998. Crop evapotranspiration guidelines for computing crop water requirements. Irrigation and drainage paper 56, Rome] although some K_c were overestimated (≥1.0). Leaf area index (LAI) was poorly calculated by MODWht and CERES-Wheat, especially when using the Priestley-Taylor method to estimate potential ET (PET). Poor overall ET calculation of three models was associated with poorly estimated values of PET or ET_o, K_c and LAI as well as their interactions. Therefore, this suggested that considerable revisions and calibrations of ET algorithms of the three models are needed for the improvement of ET calculation.     

Corn crop response under managing different irrigation and salinity levels

Non-uniformity of water distribution under irrigation system creates both deficit and surplus irrigation areas. Water salinity can be hazard on crop production; however, there is little information on the interaction of irrigation and salinity conditions on corn (Zea Mays) growth and production. This study evaluated the effect of salinity and irrigation levels on growth and yield of corn grown in the arid area of Egypt. A field experiment was conducted using corn grown in northern Egypt at Quesina, Menofia in 2009 summer season to evaluate amount of water applied, salinity hazard and their interactions. Three salinity levels and five irrigation treatments were arranged in a randomized split-plot design with salinity treatments as main plots and irrigation rates within salinity treatments. Salinity treatments were to apply fresh water (0.89 dS m⁻¹), saline water (4.73 dS m⁻¹), or mixing fresh plus saline water (2.81 dS m⁻¹). Irrigation treatments were a ratio of crop evapotranspiration (ET) as: 0.6ET, 0.8ET, 1.0ET, 1.2ET, and 1.4ET. In well-watered conditions (1.0ET), seasonal water usable by corn was 453, 423, and 380 mm for 0.89EC, 2.81EC and 4.73EC over the 122-day growing season, respectively. Soil salt accumulation was significantly increased by either irrigation salinity increase or amount decrease. But, soil infiltration was significantly decreased by either salinity level or its interaction with irrigation amount. Leaf temperature, transpiration rate, and stomata resistance were significantly affected by both irrigation and salinity levels with interaction. Leaf area index, harvest index, and yield were the greatest when fresh and adequate irrigation was applied. Grain yield was significantly affected in a linear relationship (r² ≥ 0.95) by either irrigation or salinity conditions with no interaction. An optimal irrigation scheduling was statistically developed based on crop response for a given salinity level to extrapolate data from the small experiment (uniform condition) to big field (non-uniformity condition) under the experiment constraints.     

Evaluating salinity distribution in soil irrigated with saline water in arid regions of northwest China

In arid and semi-arid regions, salinity is a serious and chronic problem for agriculture. A 3-year field experiment in the arid environment of Xinjiang, northwest China, was conducted to study the salinity change in soil resulting from deficit irrigation of cotton with non-saline, moderate saline and high saline water. The salinity profile distribution was also evaluated by an integrated water, salinity, and nitrogen model, ENVIRO-GRO. The simulated and observed salinity distributions matched well. Results indicated that after 3 years of cotton production, the average salinity in the 1.0-m soil profile was 336% and 547% of the original soil profile, respectively, for moderate saline and high saline water irrigation. If the practices continued, the average soil salinity (EC_e) in the 1.0-m soil profile would approach a steady level of 1.7, 10.8, and 14.7 dS m⁻¹, respectively, for the treatments receiving irrigation waters of 0.33, 3.62, and 6.71 dS m⁻¹. It was concluded that deficit irrigation of saline water in this region was not sustainable. Model simulation showed that a big flood irrigation after harvest can significantly reduce the salt accumulation in the soil profile, and that this practice was much more efficient for salinity control than applying the same extra amount of water during the growing season.     

Water use of spring wheat to raise water productivity

In semi-arid environments with a shortage of water resources and a risk of overexplotation of water supplies, spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) is a crop that can reduce water use and increase water productivity, because it takes advantage of spring rainfall and is harvested before the evaporative demands of summer. We carried out an experiment in 2003 at “Las Tiesas” farm, located between Barrax and Albacete (Central Spain), to improve accuracy in the estimation of wheat evapotranspiration (ETc) by using a weighing lysimeter. The measured seasonal ETc averages (5.63 mm day⁻¹) measured in the lysimeter was 417 mm compared to the calculated ETc values (5.31 mm day⁻¹) calculated with the standard FAO methodology of 393 mm. The evapotranspiration crop coefficient (Kc) derived from lysimetric measurements was Kc-mid: 1.20 and Kc-end: 0.15. The daily lysimeter Kc values were fit to the evolution linearly related to the green cover fraction (fc), which follows the crop development pattern. Seasonal soil evaporation was estimated as 135 mm and the basal crop coefficient approach was calculated in this study, Kcb which separates crop transpiration from soil evaporation (evaporation coefficient, Ke) was calculated and related to the green cover fraction (fc) and the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) obtained by field radiometry in case of wheat. The results obtained by this research will permit the reduction of water use and improvement of water productivity for wheat, which is of vital importance in areas of limited water resources.     

Analysis of AET and yield predictions under surface and buried drip irrigation systems using the Crop Model PILOTE and Hydrus-2D

Innovative irrigation solutions have to face water scarcity problems affecting the Mediterranean countries. Generally, surface (DI) or subsurface drip irrigation systems (SDI) have the ability to increase water productivity (WP). But the question about their possible utilisation for crops such as corn would merit to be analysed using an appropriate economic tool. The latter would be necessary based on the utilisation of a modelling approach to identify the optimal irrigation strategy associating a water amount with a crop yield (Yc). In this perspective, a possible utilisation of the operative 1D crop model PILOTE for simulating actual evapotranspiration (AET) and yield under a 2D soil water transfer process characterizing DI and SDI was analysed. In this study, limited to a loamy soil cultivated with corn, the pertinence of the root water uptake model used in the numerical code Hydrus-2D for AET estimations of actual evapotranspiration (AET) under water stress conditions is discussed throughout the Yc = F(AET) relationship established by PILOTE on the basis of validated simulations. The conclusions of this work are (i): with slight adaptations, PILOTE can provide reliable WP estimations associated to irrigation strategies under DI and SDI, (ii): the current Hydrus-2D version used in this study underestimates AET, compared with PILOTE, in a range varying from 7% under moderate water stress conditions to 14% under severe ones, (iii): A lateral spacing of 1.6 m for the irrigation of corn with a SDI system is an appropriate solution on a loamy soil under a Mediterranean climate.A local Yc = F(AET) relationship associated with a Hydrus-2D version taking into account the compensating root uptake process could result in an interesting tool to help identify the optimal irrigation system design under different soil conditions.     

Assessment of alternative water management options for irrigated agriculture

A simulation study on alternative water management strategies was carried out for Sirsa Irrigation Circle in Haryana, covering an area of about 4800 km². Results showed that crop evapotranspiration and soil salinity development under reduction in canal water supply and increase in groundwater use, are largely influenced by the amount and distribution of rainfall. Reduction in canal water supply by 25% during the rainy season is unlikely to have any adverse effect on the salinity development in the study area. Reduction in crop evapotranspiration due to decreased canal water supply can partly be compensated by the increase in groundwater use. Leaching of salts due to monsoon rains in the study area shows that groundwater of even relatively poor quality can be used for irrigation without excessive long-term build up of soil salinity under deep groundwater depth conditions. However, increased groundwater extraction without associated actions will not be very effective to solve the problem of rising groundwater levels.     

Using the dual approach of FAO-56 for partitioning ET into soil and plant components for olive orchards in a semi-arid region

The main goal of this research was to evaluate the potential of the dual approach of FAO-56 for estimating actual crop evapotranspiration (AET) and its components (crop transpiration and soil evaporation) of an olive (Olea europaea L.) orchard in the semi-arid region of Tensift-basin (central of Morocco). Two years (2003 and 2004) of continuous measurements of AET with the eddy-covariance technique were used to test the performance of the model. The results showed that, by using the local values of basal crop coefficients, the approach simulates reasonably well AET over two growing seasons. The Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) between measured and simulated AET values during 2003 and 2004 were respectively about 0.54 and 0.71 mm per day. The basal crop coefficient (K_cb) value obtained for the olive orchard was similar in both seasons with an average of 0.54. This value was lower than that suggested by the FAO-56 (0.62). Similarly, the single approach of FAO-56 has been tested in the previous work (Er-Raki et al., 2008) over the same study site and it has been shown that this approach also simulates correctly AET when using the local crop coefficient and under no stress conditions.Since the dual approach predicts separately soil evaporation and plant transpiration, an attempt was made to compare the simulated components of AET with measurements obtained through a combination of eddy covariance and scaled-up sap flow measurements. The results showed that the model gives an acceptable estimate of plant transpiration and soil evaporation. The associated RMSE of plant transpiration and soil evaporation were 0.59 and 0.73 mm per day, respectively.Additionally, the irrigation efficiency was investigated by comparing the irrigation scheduling design used by the farmer to those recommended by the FAO model. It was found that although the amount of irrigation applied by the farmer (800 mm) during the growing season of olives was twice that recommended one by the FAO model (411 mm), the vegetation suffered from water stress during the summer. Such behaviour can be explained by inadequate distribution of irrigation. Consequently, the FAO model can be considered as a potentially useful tool for planning irrigation schedules on an operational basis.     

Combining remote sensing and in situ soil moisture data for the application and validation of a distributed water balance model (HIDROMORE)

An application of the FAO56 approach to calculate actual evapotranspiration (AET) and soil moisture is reported, implemented by means of the HIDROMORE computerized tool, which performs spatially distributed calculations of hydrological parameters at watershed scale. The paper describes the application and validation of the model over 1 year in an area located in the central sector of the Duero Basin (Spain), where there is a network of 23 stations for continuous measurement of soil moisture (REMEDHUS; Soil Moisture Measurement Stations Network) distributed over an area of around 1300 km². The application integrated a series of Landsat 7 ETM+ images of 2002, from which the NDVI series (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) and the map of land covers/uses were derived. Validation consisted of the use of the REMEDHUS soil moisture series and their comparison with the series resulting from the application. Two simulations were performed, with soil parameters values at the surface (0-5 cm depth) and at the mean of the profile scale (0-100 cm depth). The behaviour of the simulated soil moisture was described by means of its correlation with the measured soil moisture (determination coefficient, R² = 0.67 for the surface values and 0.81 for the mean profile values), and the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), resulting in a range of it for the 23 stations between 0.010 and 0.061 cm³ cm⁻³. The application afforded an underestimation of the soil moisture content, which suggests the need for a redefinition of the limits of the plant available water used in the calculation. The results showed that HIDROMORE is an efficient tool for the characterization of hydrological parameters at global scale in the study zone. The combination of the FAO56 methodology and remote sensing techniques was efficient in the spatially distributed simulation of soil moisture.     

Water balance and pattern of soil water uptake in a peach orchard

Five-year-old peach trees were irrigated at 50% and 100% of calculated maximum evapotranspiration (MET) in order to determine the influence of water stress on the pattern of water uptake from the soil and on the actual evapotranspiration (AET) of the crop. A simplified water balance method based on the relationship between the drainage component and the soil water content averaged over the soil profile has been used to estimate AET from periodic neutron probe measurements.Maximum water uptake is from the upper 60 cm of soil when trees are well-watered. Decreased soil water content induces a shift in the soil water uptake towards deeper layers, which can be due either to upward fluxes of water or to an increased water uptake by deeper roots.AET in the 50% MET regime is reduced from July to September, compared to the 100% MET regime, partly because of stomatal closure. There is no drainage in the 50% MET treatment from June to September; it is about 1 mm day⁻¹ in the 100% MET regime until the end of August and ceases in September when the soil dries.     

Peak crop coefficient values for Shaanxi,North-west China

Lysimeter and soil water instruments were used in North-west China to determine peak crop coefficients and calibrate irrigation scheduling software developed for commercial use in Scotland. The (1963) Penman equation, previously used in Scotland, was compared with a particular formulation of the Penman–Monteith (PM) equation proposed by Allen et al. [Allen, R.G., Smith, M., Perrier, A., Pereira, L.S., 1994a. An update for the definition and calculation of reference evapotranspiration. ICID Bull. 43 (2), 1–34; Allen, R.G., Smith, M., Perrier, A., Pereira, L.S., 1994b. An update for the calculation of reference evapotranspiration. ICID Bull. 43 (2), 35–92]. Measures of soil water loss for winter wheat, maize and peaches were compared with scheduling model predictions. Predicted values of cumulative actual water use were comparable for the two ET equations when a soil water stress function was applied. However, the new PM equation provided slightly higher model efficiency, when used with a peak crop coefficient of 1.25 for maize. A peak value of 1.25 also appeared appropriate for wheat, though the evidence was less strong. Inclusion of the slow mobile water concept slightly improved agreement between measured and predicted soil water changes for the maize and peaches. For peaches, the revised PM equation provided minimum values of root mean square error (R.M.S.E.) and bias, when combined with a slow mobile water representation and using a peak crop coefficient of 0.75.     

Practical prediction of actual evapotranspiration

Summary A simplified method of estimating actual evapotranspiration of crops during an irrigation interval in which soil-moisture deficits occur is presented. With some simplifying assumptions, a relation is developed between a crop-dependent critical leaf water potential, potential evapotranspiration rates, and the fraction of available soil-moisture at which reduction in evapotranspiration occurs (Fig. 1). This relation was tested by comparing calculated and measured rates of actual evapotranspiration for maize, alfalfa, sorghum, wheat, potato, and sorghum crops (Fig. 2, A through F). Calculated values of actual crop water use were close to measured ones, except for the potato crop. Sensitivity tests indicated that, for crops with a critical leaf water potential above –7.5 bars, i.e. –0.75 MPa, errors exceeding 10 per cent were made in estimating the fraction of available soil moisture at which reduction in evapotranspiration occurs.     

Long-term growth, water consumption and yield of date palm as a function of salinity

Actual measurements of water uptake and use, and the effect of water quality considerations on evapotranspiration (ET), are indispensable for understanding root zone processes and for the development of predictive plant growth models. The driving hypothesis of this research was that root zone stress response mechanisms in perennial fruit tree crops is dynamic and dependent on tree maturity and reproductive capability. This was tested by investigating long-term ET, biomass production and fruit yield in date palms (Phoenix dactylifera L., cv. Medjool) under conditions of salinity. Elevated salinity levels in the soil solution were maintained for 6 years in large weighing-drainage lysimeters by irrigation with water having electrical conductivity (EC) of 1.8, 4, 8 and 12 dS m⁻¹. Salinity acted dynamically with a long-term consequence of increasing relative negative response to water consumption and plant growth that may be explained either as an accumulated effect or increasing sensitivity. Sensitivity to salinity stabilized at the highest measured levels after the trees matured and began producing fruit. Date palms were found to be much less tolerant to salinity than expected based on previous literature. Trees irrigated with low salinity (EC = 1.8 dS m⁻¹) water were almost twice the size (based on ET and growth rates) than trees irrigated with EC = 4 dS m⁻¹ water after 5 years. Fruit production of the larger trees was 35-50% greater than for the smaller, salt affected, trees. Long term irrigation with very high EC of irrigation water (8 and 12 dS m⁻¹) was found to be commercially impractical as growth and yield were severely reduced. The results raise questions regarding the nature of mechanisms for salinity tolerance in date palms, indicate incentives to irrigate dates with higher rather than lower quality water, and present a particular challenge for modelers to correctly choose salinity response functions for dates as well as other perennial crops.     

Effects of irrigation water salinity and electrostatic water treatment for sugarcane production

Excess salinity in irrigation water reduces sugarcane yield and juice quality. This study was conducted to compare the effect of irrigation with water of 1.3 dS m⁻¹ vs. 3.4 dS m⁻¹ on sugarcane yield and quality, and to evaluate whether an electrostatic conditioning treatment of the water influenced the salt effects. The study was conducted in a commercial field divided into large plots ranging from 1.0 to 1.2 ha in size. Cane and sugar yields were reduced approximately 17% by the 3.4 dS m⁻¹ water compared to the 1.3 dS m⁻¹ water, but juice quality parameters were not affected. Conditioning of the irrigation water using a device called an ‘electrostatic precipitator’ which claimed to affect various water properties had no effect on cane yield, juice quality or soil salinity levels. The detrimental effect of the high salt irrigation water was somewhat less than might be expected, probably due to good late summer rainfall which may have flushed the root zone from the excessive salts.     

Estimating yield of sorghum using root zone water balance model and spectral characteristics of crop in a dryland Alfisol

This study investigated the relationship between sorghum grain yield for a range of soil depths, with the seasonal crop water stress index based on relative evapotranspiration deficits and spectral vegetation indices. A root zone water balance model was used to evaluate seasonal soil water fluctuations and actual evapotranspiration within a toposequence; soil depth varied between 30 and 75 cm and available water capacity ranged from 6.9 to 12.6% (v/v, %). An empirical model was used to determine root growth. Runoff was estimated from rainfall data using the curve number techniques of the Soil Conservation Services, combined with a soil water-accounting procedure. The high r² values between modeled and observed values of soil water in the root zone (r² > 0.70, significant at P < 0.001) and runoff (r² = 0.95, significant at P < 0.001) indicated good agreement between the model output and observed values. Canopy reflectance was measured during the entire crop growth period and the following spectral indices were calculated: simple ratio, normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), green NDVI, perpendicular vegetation index, soil adjusted vegetation index (SAVI) and modified SAVI (MSAVI). All the vegetation indices, except for the perpendicular vegetation index, measured from booting to anthesis stage, were positively correlated with leaf area index (LAI) and yield. The correlation coefficient for spectral indices with dry biomass was relatively less than for LAI and yield. Modified SAVI recorded from booting to milk-grain stage gave the highest average correlation coefficient with grain yield. Additive and multiplicative forms of water-production functions, as well as water stress index calculated from water budget model, were used to predict crop yield. A multiple regression was carried out with yield, for the years 2001–2003, as the dependent variable and MSAVI, from the booting to the milk-grain stage of crop and relative yield values, calculated using both additive and multiplicative water production functions as well as water stress index, as the independent variables. The multiplicative model and MSAVI, recorded during the heading stage of crop growth, gave the highest coefficient of determination (r² = 0.682, significant at P < 0.001). The multiple regression equation was tested for yield data recorded during 2004; the deviation between observed and estimated yields varied from −6.2 to 9.4%. The water budget model, along with spectral vegetation indices, gave satisfactory estimates of sorghum grain yields and appears to be a useful tool to estimate yield as a function of soil depth and available water.     

Yield response of sugar beets to water stress under Western European conditions

The average yield of sugar beet has almost doubled within the last 30 years. With the raise in average yields and the increase in sensitivity to water stress of sugar beets, the yield response factor (Ky) derived by Doorenbos and Kassam (1979) needs an update. In this article, the soil water balance model BUDGET (Raes et al., 2006) was calibrated and validated to obtain correct estimations of the evapotranspiration deficit (1 − ETa/ETc, where ETa = actual crop evapotranspiration and ETc = maximum crop evapotranspiration under standard conditions) of sugar beets in two locations in France. Datasets of observed soil water contents of several years and different irrigation treatments were used. The simulated evapotranspiration deficits and observed yields were used to derive a seasonal Ky. The obtained linear and polynomial yield response relation between observed yield decline and evapotranspiration deficit showed a high goodness-of-fit. The coefficient of determination (R²) = 0.83, the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (EF) = 0.79, the relative root mean squared error (RRMSE) = 0.26 for linear; the coefficient of determination (R²) = 0.85, the Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency (EF) = 0.79, the relative root mean squared error (RRMSE) = 0.25 for polynomial). The results suggested a more pronounced response of sugar beet to water stress in Europe as compared to the values previously reported by Doorenbos and Kassam (1979). The comparison between the observed and simulated yields (with the updated Ky) for another site in France confirmed the findings.     

Improvement of FAO-56 method for olive orchards through sequential assimilation of thermal infrared-based estimates of ET

The aim of this study is to use the FAO-56-based single crop coefficient approach to estimate actual evapotranspiration (AET) of an olive (Olea europaea L.) orchard in the Mediterranean semi arid region of Tensift-basin (central Morocco) during two consecutive growing seasons (2003 and 2004). The results showed that using crop coefficients K_c suggested by FAO-56 method yielded an AET overestimation by about 18% when compared against eddy covariance measurements. Therefore, the determination of appropriate K_c values is required to accurately estimate crop water requirement of olive orchards in such water scarce area.In this study, after applying the K_c values derived over olive orchard in Spain by Pastor and Orgaz [Pastor, M., Orgaz, F., 1994. Riego deficitario del olivar: los programas de recorte de riego en olivar. Agricultura 746, 768-776 (in Spanish)], a better agreement was observed between measured and simulated AET. The root mean square error (RMSE) was reduced by about 28%, from 0.80 to 0.61 mm/day for 2003 and from 0.93 to 0.69 mm/day for 2004. The used K_c values of olives at three crop growth stages (initial, mid-season and maturity) were 0.65, 0.45, and 0.65, respectively, the mid-season stage value being considerably lower than that suggested by the FAO-56.Despite these improvements in the performance of AET simulations, some discrepancies between measured and simulated AET remained, especially when water stress occurred. These discrepancies were ascribed to the estimation of the stress coefficient K_c To overcome this problem, we assimilated into FAO-56 single source model estimates of AET derived from a simple energy balance model along with thermal infrared observations. The latter were collected with the ASTER sensor in 2003 and from ground-based measurements in 2004. The results showed a clear improvement for FAO-56 performances after assimilation: for 2003 and 2004, the RMSE values between observations and simulations, respectively, dropped down from 0.61 to 0.52 and from 0.69 to 0.46 (corresponding to relative reductions of 15 and 40%, respectively).