Modélisation de la productivité du blé dur en milieu semi aride en utilisant le programme « Aqua-Crop »

Abstract

Simulation models that clarify the effects of water on crop yield, are useful tools for improving farm level water management and optimizing water use efficiency. FAO recently developed a water-driven model for use as a decision support tool in planning and scenario analysis in different seasons and locations with limited sophistication. The objective of this study is to validate the AquaCrop model for its ability to simulate wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) performance under semi-arid conditions in East of Algeria. The AquaCrop model was evaluated with field experimental data collected during five cropping seasons (2010-2016) were total water stress ranged between 20% at Emergence-Heading stage to 66% at Heading-Maturity stage. The results of this study proved the efficiency of the Aqua Crop model to quantify the water stress. The results of reliability indices such as Root Mean Square Error (RMSE), Average Absolute Error (AAE), Index of agreement (d), and Prediction error (Pe) were 1.71, 1.48, 0.77 and 19.25 % respectively for grain yield; and 2.79, 2.58, 0.33 and 8.57 % respectively for final above-ground biomass. The AquaCrop model was able to accurately simulate harvest index giving a d = 0.76, RMSE and AAE of 9.84 and 7.59, respectively. The AquaCrop model can adequately quantify water stress and can be used to explore management options to improve wheat water productivity. His simplicity due to its required minimum input data, which are readily available or can easily be collected, can made it user-friendly for users.