Evaluation of AquaCrop Model for Estimating Rice Yield under Alternative Irrigation

< p >Rice production in northern region of Iran which is strategically and economically very important, requires irrigation management changing with traditional irrigation method (flood irrigation). Plant models that can simulate crop yield in different irrigation management and different conditions will be very beneficial in terms of time and cost. The latest version of the AquaCrop model was used in this study. In this regard, a research was conducted in summer of 2018 to investigate the effect of different levels of irrigation on water consumption, rice yield and water productivity in paddy field of Babolsar, Mazandaran, Iran. The experiment was performed in the field in a randomized complete block design with three replicates and four treatments in 12 plots. The treatments were TI (Traditional/flood Irrigation), AI1, AI3 and AI5 (Alternative Irrigation one, three and five days after disappearance of water from the soil surface, respectively). After applying different irrigation practices and recording the amount of cumulative water given to the treatments, grain yield and water productivity were also determined. To quantify and verify the effects of different water management on rice yield, calibration, validation and sensitivity analysis of the model was performed based on field measurements. After calibration, the model was performed for the four treatments and the results showed that the model could simulate the yield of the product for irrigation management with high accuracy (0.81).