Estimating ETo and scheduling crop irrigation using Blaney–Criddle equation when only air-temperature data are available and solving the issue of missing meteorological data in Egypt

Accurate assessment of evapotranspiration is essential for crop irrigation planning. In developing countries and given the cost of evaluating evapotranspiration based on the Penman-Monteith equation, this research is an attempt to provide a simple equation that depends only on temperature to estimate evapotranspiration and serve as an alternative method to FAO56-PM when only air temperature data are available and the problem of missing meteorological data is solved. Four reference methods for evapotranspiration (ET) were compared under the local climatic conditions of the El-Nobaria region in northern Egypt. The Blaney–Criddle method was found to have the highest correlation with the FAO56-PM method. Using the simple equations to calculate ETo for irrigation scheduling of peanuts had a positive effect on the yield and yield components of peanuts. The highest productivity value was obtained when the Blaney–Criddle equation was used to estimate peanut irrigation scheduling, while equation resulted in lower productivity. When the equation was used, the differences in productivity between the equations were highly significant. It is worth noting that when the Blaney–Criddle and Thorthwaite equations were used, followed by the FAO56-PM equation, the superiority of the water productivity value became evident, as the increase in nutrient concentration in the root zone led to increased nutrient uptake, resulting in an increase in the productivity of peanut yield, oil and protein. Paper presented at: International Scientific and Practical Conference “Methods for Synthesis of New Biologically Active Substances and Their Application in Various Industries of the World Economy – 2023” (MSNBAS2023), Moscow, Russian Federation, December 5-6, 2023

Estimating ETO and scheduling crop irrigation using Blaney–Criddle equation when only air-temperature data are available and solving the issue of missing meteorological data in Egypt

Accurate assessment of evapotranspiration is essential for crop irrigation planning. In developing countries and given the cost of evaluating evapotranspiration based on the Penman-Monteith equation, this research is an attempt to provide a simple equation that depends only on temperature to estimate evapotranspiration and serve as an alternative method to FAO56-PM when only air temperature data are available and the problem of missing meteorological data is solved. Four reference methods for evapotranspiration (ET) were compared under the local climatic conditions of the El-Nobaria region in northern Egypt. The Blaney–Criddle method was found to have the highest correlation with the FAO56-PM method. Using the simple equations to calculate ETo for irrigation scheduling of peanuts had a positive effect on the yield and yield components of peanuts. The highest productivity value was obtained when the Blaney–Criddle equation was used to estimate peanut irrigation scheduling, while equation resulted in lower productivity. When the equation was used, the differences in productivity between the equations were highly significant. It is worth noting that when the Blaney–Criddle and Thorthwaite equations were used, followed by the FAO56-PM equation, the superiority of the water productivity value became evident, as the increase in nutrient concentration in the root zone led to increased nutrient uptake, resulting in an increase in the productivity of peanut yield, oil and protein

Near infrared spectroscopy techniques for soil contamination assessment in the Nile Delta

Heavy metals concentration is considered one of the factors directly affecting soil and crop quality and, thus, human health. The objective of the current work was to critically examine the suitability of Vis- NIR (350–2500 nm) measurements for calibration procedures and methods to predict contaminated soil. 25 different sites were selected adjacent to drain Bahr El-Baqar east of Nile Delta. Spectroradiometer ASD was used to measure the spectral reflectance profile of each soil site. The concentrations of three heavy metals (Cr, Mn and Cu) were determined in the studied samples. Stepwise multiple linear regression (SMLR) was used to construct calibration models subjected to the independent validation. The obtained regression models were of good quality (R2 = 0.82, 0.75, and 0.65 for Cr, Mn, and Cu, respectively). Thus, Visible and Nearinfrared (Vis-NIR) reflection spectroscopy is cost- and time-effective procedure that can be used as an alternative to the traditional methods of determination of heavy metals in soils. © 2016, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd

Near infrared spectroscopy techniques for soil contamination assessment in the Nile Delta

Heavy metals concentration is considered one of the factors directly affecting soil and crop quality and, thus, human health. The objective of the current work was to critically examine the suitability of Vis- NIR (350–2500 nm) measurements for calibration procedures and methods to predict contaminated soil. 25 different sites were selected adjacent to drain Bahr El-Baqar east of Nile Delta. Spectroradiometer ASD was used to measure the spectral reflectance profile of each soil site. The concentrations of three heavy metals (Cr, Mn and Cu) were determined in the studied samples. Stepwise multiple linear regression (SMLR) was used to construct calibration models subjected to the independent validation. The obtained regression models were of good quality (R2 = 0.82, 0.75, and 0.65 for Cr, Mn, and Cu, respectively). Thus, Visible and Nearinfrared (Vis-NIR) reflection spectroscopy is cost- and time-effective procedure that can be used as an alternative to the traditional methods of determination of heavy metals in soils. © 2016, Pleiades Publishing, Ltd

Agricultural Water Monitoring for Water Management Under Pivot Irrigation System Using Spatial Techniques

In arid and semi-arid regions, the water-use efficiency (WUE) is highly important for water administration and management. The water losses increased, when water application records low efficiency. The water losses maybe amplified, when the irrigation system ignores soil variability and water applied uniformly. Which means more water application, more energy demand, and more money expenses. The current investigation aims at using remotely sensed data and GIS Techniques for monitoring irrigation water consumption and its correlation with crop yield under the pivot irrigation system. El-Salhia region contains a big agricultural farm located at the South Eastern of Nile delta. The investigated field was irrigated under the pivot central sprinkler irrigation system which cultivated with the wheat crop. The normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and land surface temperature (LST) were calculated based on landsat data. The crop water stress index (CWSI) depends on the variance between the LST of the targets and their air temperature (Tair) to detect the relative moisture condition. The soil texture, organic matter, time-domain reflectometer (TDR), thermal infrared, leaf area index (LAI), and actual yield measurements were taken for 47 systematic samples during the wheat growing season of the year 2012/2013. Accordingly, the available water (AW) displayed relatively lower accuracy than the rest of the other parameters. The canopy temperature (Tc), CWSI, field capacity (Fc), and LAI showed high accuracy to predict the wheat yield as shown from the statistical analysis. The WUE recorded 1.07 (kg/m3) in the southeast boundary and gradient toward the northwest boundary with a rate of 2.2 (kg/m3). The WUE distribution is comparable to soil parameters and measured yield circulation, which indicates high applicability with significant improvement in yield response. © 2020, King Abdulaziz University and Springer Nature Switzerland AG

Monitoring agricultural water in the desert environment of New Valley Governorate for sustainable agricultural development: a case study of Kharga

The New Valley Governorate (NVG) is characterized by a desert climate, with almost no rainfall during the year. Water shortages are a significant problem in this region, and farmers depend on underground water to irrigate their crops, which is reflected in the quantity and quality of the water used for cultivation. The primary aim of this study was to track the interaction between agricultural water use and changes in the agricultural system in the NVG. To distinguish between significant crops, the multitemporal normalized vegetation difference index (NDVI) derived from Sentinel-2 imagery was used. The FAO Penman-Monteith model (FPM) is considered a global standard method for estimating the reference evapotranspiration (ETo). However, this requires the values of several environmental variables (air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation) obtained from weather reports. Based on NDVI data, the crop coefficient (Kc) is calculated. The Kc and ETo equations were used to estimate the crop evapotranspiration (ETc). Based on data from Sentinel-2, Kc was found to range from 0 to 1.2 in the study area and ETc ranged from 0 to 7.5 mm/day during the winter season of 2019/2020. While the vegetation cover increased from 6721 fed in 2000 to 9375 fed in 2010, there was a much greater increase from 9375 fed in 2010 to 22,869 fed in 2020. Over the period 2000-2020, the agricultural area increased by 244% in the NVG, thus greatly increasing water consumption in this region. Therefore, more detailed studies of groundwater depletion and quality in the NVG are needed