Simulating Plant Growth Under Water Stress Using the AquaCrop Model

Water scarcity is one of the significant challenges in plant growth, especially in dry and semi-dry regions, since it can limit growth and crop productivity. Hydroponic systems that employ proactive water consumptive techniques can alleviate this issue. To this end, the study uses the AquaCrop model from the FAO to simulate varying levels of water yield and plant growth responses to yield outcomes and determine if it is helpful to predict growth in Yield under constrained water conditions. All the calibration and validation needed for AquaCrop were done using empirical field data, including soil moisture, evapotranspiration, canopy, and root development. The simulation results were measured against the field data, breaching strong relationships between outputs and physiological responses, such as lessened >biomass and canopy agglomeration, as well as increased responsiveness to stimulus in the opposite direction. Focusing more on sensitivity analysis, the precision of the results was significantly determined by irrigation interval, crop coefficient, and soil texture. Derived conclusion: AquaCrop can be recommended as a reliable source for supporting analysis to resolve hydraulic restrictions in agricultural settings. The study demonstrates AquaCrop's ability to refine irrigation schemes, which, coupled with proper strategizing, can enable farmers to cope with climate change. Further work on the model should include real-time weather data feeding its agroecological scope.