EVALUATION OF SOMESIMULATION MODELS TO MAXIMIZE THE UTILIZATION EFFICIENCYOF WATER UNIT UNDEREGYPTIAN CONDITIONS

Abstract

Simulation models focus on water because it is the key driver of agricultural production and the critical factor of increasing crop production. With increasing concern about declining water resources, The great challenge of the agricultural sector is to produce more food from less water.Simulation models are useful tools for studying increasing Irrigation Application Efficiency (Ea) and Crop Water Productivity(CWP), evaluating the effects of water deficits to optimize water use efficiency to enhance sustainability and profitability of crop production. HydroCalc model was evaluated under two lateral length (30, 50m) and (0, 0.02) slopes under pressurized irrigation systems (surface drip irrigation and solid-set sprinkler) and AquaCrop model was evaluated under irrigated sugar beet cropwithdifferent water regimes(100, 80 and 60%potential evapotranspiration (Etp)throughout the successfulwinter growth season (2017/2018). Sugar beet was planted in an area 2000 m2 with split plot design at the Experimental Farm of Agricultural Production and Research Station, National Research Centre (NRC), El Nubaria, Egypt, (latitude 30.87N, longitude 30.17E and altitude 20 m above sea level).