文章基本信息

标题：Simulating Maize Productivity under Selected Climate Smart Agriculture Practices Using AquaCrop Model in a Sub-humid Environment
本地全文：下载
作者：Alex Zizinga ; Jackson Gilbert Majaliwa Mwanjalolo ; Britta Tietjen 等
期刊名称：Sustainability
印刷版ISSN：2071-1050
出版年度：2022
卷号：14
期号：4
页码：2036
DOI：10.3390/su14042036
语种：English
出版社：MDPI, Open Access Journal
摘要：Crop models are crucial in assessing the reliability and sustainability of soil water conservation practices. The AquaCrop model was tested and validated for maize productivity under the selected climate smart agriculture (CSA) practices in the rainfed production systems. The model was validated using final biomass (B) and grain yield (GY) data from field experiments involving seven CSA practices (halfmoon pits, 2 cm thick mulch, 4 cm thick mulch, 6 cm thick mulch, 20 cm deep permanent planting basins (PPB), and 30 cm deep) and the control (conventional practice) where no CSA was applied. Statistics for coefficient of determination (R2), Percent bias (Pbias), and Nash–Sutcliffe (E) for B and GY indicate that the AquaCrop model was robust to predict crop yield and biomass as illustrated by the value of R2 > 0.80, Pbias −1.52–1.25% and E > 0.68 for all the CSA practices studied. The relative changes between the actual and simulated water use efficiency (WUE) of grain yield was observed in most of the CSA practices. However, measured WUE was seemingly better in the 2 cm thick mulch, indicating a potential for water saving and yield improvement. Therefore, the AquaCrop model is recommended as a reliable tool for assessing the effectiveness of the selected CSA practices for sustainable and improved maize production; although, the limitations in severely low soil moisture conditions and water stressed environments should be further investigated considering variations in agroecological zones.