Abstract
The climate of Iraq is of the subtropical semi-dry type; however, the country was rich in water resources until a few decades ago. Climate change and the construction of many dams on the Tigris and Euphrates rivers in the neighboring countries have caused water shortages and poor water quality. Now, there is a need to decrease consumption, improve management of water resources, and determine the water requirements of the major crops because agriculture is the first consumer of water in Iraq. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) CROPWAT 8.0 simulation software and the CLIMWAT 2.0 tool attached to it have been used in this research for Dhi-Qar Province in southern Iraq to find the crop water requirements (CWRs) and irrigation schedules for some major crops. The CROPWAT Penman–Monteith method was used to calculate the reference crop evapotranspiration (ET0) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) soil conservation (S.C.) method was used to estimate the effective rainfall. The study results showed that ET0 varied from 2.18 to 10.5 mm/day and the effective rainfall varied from 0.0 to 23.1 mm. The irrigation requirements were 1142, 203.2, 844.8, and 1180 mm/dec for wheat, barley, white corn, and tomatoes, respectively. There is a higher water demand for crops during the dry seasons (summer and autumn) and a lower demand during the wet seasons (winter and spring). The total gross irrigation and the total net irrigation were 343.8 mm and 240.7 mm for wheat, 175.2 mm and 122.6 mm for barley, 343.8 mm and 240.7 mm for white corn, and 203.3 mm and 142.3 mm for tomatoes. This study proved that the CROPWAT model is useful for calculating the crop irrigation needs for the proper management of water resources.
Highlights
Iraq has been known as the land of the two rivers (Mesopotamia) since ancient times
CROPWAT 8.0 is a decision-support computer program based on a number of equations, by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) to calculate reference evapotranspiration (ET0 ), crop water requirement (CWR), irrigation developed by the FAO to calculate reference evapotranspiration (ET0), crop water requirement (CWR), scheduling, and irrigation water requirement (IR), using rainfall, soil, crop, and climate data [12]
It can readily be seen that crop water requirements and schedules were specific to the local study area owing to the seasonal and ecological features of the province
Summary
Iraq has been known as the land of the two rivers (Mesopotamia) since ancient times. Its abundant fertile land, fresh water, and varying climate have contributed to the creation of a deep-rooted civilization that had prospered for thousands of years [1]. Iraqi water resources are inefficiently managed especially when it comes to irrigation This issue was not a real problem because of the abundance of water in the Tigris and Euphrates rivers with relatively moderate rainfall levels. Agriculture is the main consumer of water in Iraq, and the irrigation systems require. Agriculture is the main consumer of water in Iraq, and the irrigation systems require modernization modernization and good management by evaluating water system prerequisites precisely. Software modeling by programs like AQUACROP and CROPWAT 8.0 is a significant practice used by scientists for the assessment of crop evapotranspiration, CWR, and irrigation scheduling. The the irrigation water requirements and irrigation scheduling of some selected crops (wheat, barley, irrigation water requirements and irrigation scheduling of some selected crops (wheat, barley, white white corn, and tomatoes) in Dhi-Qar Province, southern Iraq were studied using the CROPWAT model.
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