Impact in Agriculture

Modeling Irrigation Timing and Amounts for Sunflower Under Deficient Water Conditions: A Case Study in Adana

Yusuf Sadi Ibrahim ¹ , Usman M. Umar ¹ , Burak Sen ²

Abstract

Agriculture has been threatened by insufficient rainfall due to climate change, which makes water-saving measures essential to producing enough food for the world's expanding population. The economic and environmental viability of commercial agriculture depends on the use of water-saving irrigation systems. This study used the CROPWAT Model to estimate the optimal irrigation dates and irrigation amount of Sunflower in the Adana Region for the period of 1991-2020. The CROPWAT software was supplied with climate, precipitation, soil, and crop data to determine the solar radiation, reference evapotranspiration, crop evapotranspiration, effective rainfall, and crop water requirements. The Average reference evapotranspiration (ETo), crop evapotranspiration (ETc), and effective rainfall (Reff) were found to be 3.9mm/day, 624 mm, and 108mm, respectively. Irrigation amounts at critical depletion (IRcd) and at user-defined (IRud) were obtained as 462 mm and 416 mm from the result. The findings also demonstrate that there were five irrigation applications throughout the growing season, which significantly enhanced crop yield and optimized water use efficiency relative to treatments with fewer irrigation events.

Keywords: CROPWAT; Crop Evapotranspiration; Net Irrigation; Effective Rainfall; Crop Water Requirement

Acknowledgment

All authors have reviewed and consented to the finalized version of the manuscript.

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