The Effect of Irrigation Treatments and Sowing Periods on Water Use Efficiency, Yield and Quality of Common Bean

авремено друштво се сусреће са врло озбиљним изазовима у пољопривредној производњи, а везано за све веће захтеве за храном као и недостатком воде у овом сектору. Полазећи од ових чињеница, истраживање које је описано у овој дисертације је првенствено посвећено рационалном коришћењу водних ресурса и проналажењу начина како повећати производњу хране. Циљ ове докторске дисертације био је да се испита утицај режима наводњавања и рока сетве на ефикасност коришћења воде, принос и квалитет зрна пасуља. Истраживање је вршено на пасуљу сорте сремац. Постављен је двофакторијални оглед по split plot плану (плану подељених парцела) у три понављања. Први фактор (парцела) био је рок сетве: сетва у редовном року, половином априла (I) и две касне сетве (крај маја/почетак јуна (II) и крај јуна/почетак јула (III)). Други фактор (подпарцела) био је режим наводњавања (третман пуног наводњавања (Ф) и два третмана редукованог наводњавања (Д1 и Д2)). Трогодишње истраживање у периоду од половине априла до почетка октобра (2018, 2019. и 2020. године) извршено је на огледном пољу компаније „Напредак“ а. д. Стара Пазова. Све три године биле су веома топле, али истовремено и веома кишне. Сума падавина током истраживаног периода варирала је од 590 mm (2019) до 434 mm (2020) године, што је далеко изнад просечне вредности за овај период која износи 359 mm. У оквиру испитиваних фактора (рок сетве и режим наводњавања) праћена је фенологија пасуља, влажност земљишта, покровност земљишта, акумулација суве биомасе, индекс лисне површине, потрошња воде пасуља, стање вегетације и снабдевеност водом, принос пасуља, принос суве биомасе, број махуна по биљци, маса 1000 зрна, жетвени индекс, хемијске особине зрна пасуља (садржај протеина и уља), као и продуктивност воде и ефикасност коришћења воде. У раду су, поред осталих, примењене савремене методе даљинске детекције (мултиспектрални и термални снимци). Највеће вредности садржаја воде у земљишту регистроване су у оквиру Ф третмана у свим испитиваним роковима сетве, и овај садржај воде није се спуштао испод границе лако приступачне воде биљкама, изузев током сазревања. Режим пуног наводњавања (Ф) остварио је значајно већу (p<0,05) акумулацију биомасе и проценат покровности земљишта у поређењу са Д2 третманом, док се третман Д1 није значајно разликовао. Режим наводњавања и рокови сетве испољили су статистичку значајност на промену вредности стварне евапотранспирације. Утврђена је разлика у просечним вредностима стварне евапотранспирације између третмана наводњавања и између појединих рокова сетви. У трогодишњем периоду у првом року сетве у просеку је трошено 383,4 mm, у другом 407,9 mm а у трећем 360,0 mm. На варијанти са пуним наводњавањем у просеку је потрошено 401,7 mm, док је потрошња воде на третманима редукованог заливања мања у односу на Ф третмане (383,1 mm и 366,9 mm на третманима Д1 и Д2, редом). Израчунати вегетациони индекси (NDVI - вегетациони индекс нормализоване разлике; GNDVI - зелени вегетациони индекс нормализоване разлике; MCARI1 - модификовани индекс абсорпције хлорофила у рефлексији) добијени су на основу мултиспектралних снимака беспилотном летелицом (дроном). Вредности NDVI, MCARI1 и GNDVI су статистички значајно више у Ф третману него на третманима редукованог наводњавања. Вегетациони индекси NDVI, MCARI1, и GNDVI били су у доброј до јакој корелацији са величинама на које утиче режим наводњавања: покривеношћу, индексом лисне површине и транспирацијом, али и у задовољавајућој корелацији са вредностима влажности земљишта...Modern society is facing serious challenges in agricultural production related to increasing food demand and water scarcity. Based on these facts, the research described in this dissertation is primarily dedicated to the rational use of water resources and finding ways to ramp up food production. The aim of this doctoral dissertation was to examine the impact of irrigation regimes and sowing periods on water use efficiency, yield, and grain quality of beans, specifically the sremac bean variety. The research was conducted in a two-factorial trial using a split-plot design divided into three repetitions. The first factor (plot) was the sowing period, including sowing in the regular term, mid-April (I) and two late sowings (end of May/beginning of June (II) and end of June/beginning of July (III)). The second factor (subplot) was the irrigation regime, which included full irrigation treatment (F) and two deficit irrigation treatments (D1 and D2). The three-year study was conducted from mid-April to early October (2018, 2019, 2020) on the experimental field of the company "Napredak" a.d. Stara Pazova. All three years were warm and rainy, with total precipitation during the study period ranging from 590 mm (2019) to 434 mm (2020), which is well above the average value of 359 mm for this period. Within the framework of the examined factors (sowing period and irrigation regime), the following aspects were monitored: phenology of beans, soil moisture, canopy cover, dry biomass accumulation, leaf area index, water consumption of common bean, plant health and water status, grain yield, dry biomass yield, number of pods per plant, 1000-grain weight, harvest index, chemical properties of bean grains (protein and oil content), and water productivity and water use efficiency. The research also applied modern remote sensing methods, including multispectral and thermal images. The highest soil moisture was observed in the F treatment (full irrigation) during all three sowing periods and water content did not drop below the readily avaliable water level, except during maturation. The full irrigation regime (F) achieved significantly higher (p<0.05) biomass accumulation and canopy cover compared to the D2 treatment, while the D1 did not differ significantly. The effect of the irrigation regime and sowing period was statistically significant in changing the values of actual evapotranspiration. The difference in average values of actual evapotranspiration between irrigation treatments and between sowing periods was determined. In the three-year period, an average of 383.4 mm was spent in the first sowing period, 407.9 mm in the second, and 360.0 mm in the third. In the full irrigation treatment, an average of 401.7 mm was consumed, while water consumption in deficit irrigation treatments was lower compared to the F treatment (381.1 mm and 366.9 mm in the D1 and D2 treatments, respectively) Calculated vegetation indices (NDVI - normalized difference vegetation index, GNDVI - green normalized difference vegetation index, and MCARI1 - modified chlorophyll absorption ratio index at 700 nm) were obtained from multispectral images taken by an unmanned aerial vehicle (drone). The values of NDVI, MCARI1 and GNDVI were significantly higher in the F treatment than in the deficit irrigation treatments. Vegetation indices NDVI, MCARI1, and GNDVI were in good to strong correlation with the variables affected by the irrigation regime: canopy cover, leaf area index and transpiration, as well as satisfactory correlation with soil moisture values. The high correlations of the NDVI, MCARI1 and GNDVI indices with the detection of differences in irrigation regimes qualify them as a reliable tools for estimating bean yields..

SIMULATION OF WATER CONSUMPTION, GROWTH AND YIELD OF TOMATOES USING THE AQUACROP MODEL

Water for irrigation will undoubtedly be reduced as a result of climate change, disrupted rainfall patterns, and water scarcity, putting crop production in jeopardy. As a result, in order to maintain high agricultural production and meet food demand, new technology must be developed, and the feasibility of cultivating essential vegetable crops without irrigation must be investigated. The goal of this research is to estimate tomato water consumption, growth, and yield using the Aquacrop model. The experiment was put up on carbonate chernozem soil near Stara Pazova (40 kilometers north of Belgrade). There were two treatments: soil treated with organic fertilizer Fertigkompost (OF) and soil treated with no organic fertilizer (K). Both treatments were fed by rain. The obtained results show that the AquaCrop model accurately predicts tomato yields with variations of 7.1 percent and 11.8 percent, respectively, when compared to observed yields on OF and K treatments. For the OF and K treatments, statistical indices of correlation coefficients (r) of 0.97 and 0.95, respectively, root mean square error (RMSE) of 10.1 percent, 9.0 percent, and Willmott index of agreement (d) of 0.98, 0.97, confirm excellent assessment of tomato growth. Water consumption is likewise fairly predicted by the model, with r= 0.72 and 0.63, RMSE = 38.1 and 32.5 mm, and d= 0.83 and 0.76 for the OF and K treatments, respectively. With high confidence, the model may be used to estimate tomato production in a variety of growth circumstances

The Perception of Stakeholders to Implement Nature-Based Solution for Flood Protection in the Balkans and in Iceland

Recent climate change observations and projections reveal an intensification of weather patterns, leading to severe floods and droughts in most parts of the world. The intensification of weather patterns could mitigate the effectiveness of flood protection infrastructures such as dams, levees and flood channels. Numerous studies have highlighted the superior effect of Nature-Based Solutions (NBS) in order to manage and mitigate the hydro-meteorological risk generated by an intensified water cycle. In particular, Natural Water Retention Measures (NWRM) can prove to be efficient, sustainable and flexible solutions. NWRMs reduce flood events, mitigate flood damage and provide biological habitats for the conservation of local flora and fauna. Accordingly, NWRM should be implemented on a large scale throughout the river basins with the close involvement of local stakeholders and landowners. For this purpose, we assessed the perception of stakeholders and landowners of applying NWRM on private properties in four European countries (Iceland, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, and Slovenia). Country-specific semi-quantitative questionnaires were created for representative watersheds in all four countries. The questionnaires took into account that floods are characterized by the country-specific precipitation, topography of the terrain and the nature of the watercourse. Therefore different NWRMs were recommended between the countries. Based on the preliminary analysis, we have concluded similar outcomes for all four states: Landowners want to cooperate with local communities and governments in order to adopt flood protection measures. They pointed to NWRM as equally important as an engineering-based solution, but they are not particularly willing to implement NWRM on their private lands. Landowners indicate that the government should have at least a 75% share in financing flood protection measures. The similarities of the results in the four countries reveal that a Pan-European perception might be generated by conducting similar surveys in other European countries

AquaCrop Model Performance in Yield, Biomass, and Water Requirement Simulations of Common Bean Grown under Different Irrigation Treatments and Sowing Periods

first_pageDownload PDFsettingsOrder Article Reprints Open AccessArticle AquaCrop Model Performance in Yield, Biomass, and Water Requirement Simulations of Common Bean Grown under Different Irrigation Treatments and Sowing Periods by Ružica Stričević *ORCID,Aleksa LipovacORCID,Nevenka Djurović,Dunja Sotonica andMarija Ćosić Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade, Nemanjina 6, 11080 Zemun, Serbia * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Horticulturae 2023, 9(4), 507; https://doi.org/10.3390/horticulturae9040507 Submission received: 13 March 2023 / Revised: 11 April 2023 / Accepted: 13 April 2023 / Published: 19 April 2023 (This article belongs to the Special Issue Integrated Water Resources Management for Horticulture) Downloadkeyboard_arrow_down Browse Figures Review Reports Versions Notes Abstract The application of crop growth simulation and water management models will become increasingly important in the future. They can be used to predict yield reductions due to water scarcity and allocate water to ensure profitable crop production. The objective of this research was to calibrate the AquaCrop model for common bean (Faseolus vulgaris L.) grown in temperate climates and to test whether the model can be used for different irrigation strategies to achieve high yield productivity. The model was calibrated using data obtained from two years of experimental research in the Serbian territory of the Syrmia region. There were three sowing periods/plots: I—mid April, II—end of May/beginning of June, and III—third decade of June/beginning of July; and three levels of irrigation/subplots: full irrigation (F) providing 100% of crop evapotranspiration (ETc), mild deficit irrigation (R) at 80% of ETc, and moderate deficit irrigation (S) at 60% of ETc. The results show that the AquaCrop model accurately predicts common bean yield, biomass, canopy cover, and water requirements. The statistical indices of the calibrated dataset, coefficient of determination (R2), normalized root mean square error (NRMSE), mean bias error (MBE), and Willmott agreement index (d) for yield and biomass were: 0.91, 0.99; 6.9%, 11.4%; −0.046, 1.186 and 0.9, 0.89, respectively. When testing three irrigation strategies, the model accurately predicted irrigation requirements for the full and two deficit irrigation strategies, with only 29 mm, 32 mm, and 34 mm more water than was applied for the Fs, Rs, and Ss irrigation strategy, respectively. The AquaCrop model performed well in predicting irrigated yield and can be used to estimate the yield of common bean for different sowing periods and irrigation strategies

THE IMPORTANCE OF CUCUMBER SEEDLING IRRIGATION BY MEANS OF NUTRIENT SOLUTION

Due to their fast growth, young seedlings have high nutrient requirements. Modern seedling production systems, particularly those with the protected root system, recommend the increased frequency of nutrient application during the process. The optimal continuous nutrient availability is primarily provided by irrigating young plants using the appropriate nutrient solution concentration. The research conducted at the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Belgrade included cucumber seedlings, while its aims were to underline the impact of seedling fertilisation on the seedling quality and to find the optimal nutrient solution concentration for irrigating seedlings. The cucumber seedlings (Darina F1) were grown in grow chambers at day/night intervals of 14/10h and air temperature of 25/18oC. The seedlings were grown in 9-cm diameter pots (Teku), filled with the substrate TKS 1 (Floragard). After sprouting, the seedlings were irrigated using different nutrient solution concentrations of Fitofert Humistart fertiliser: 0.1%, 0.3%, 0.6% and 1%. The control variant was irrigated using pure water. The seedling period lasted for 22 days (after sprouting), after which the seedling quality was determined by measuring the plant height and stem height, stem diameter, leaf number, leaf surface per plant, as well as plant fresh weight. The cucumber seedlings grown in the control variant had a statistically significantly smaller plant height, stem height and stem diameter, a smaller leaf number and lower plant fresh weight. The seedling variants which were continuously irrigated using only the nutrient solution had the measured quality parameters which did not show statistically significant differences between the variants. On the basis of this research, it can be concluded that the seedling irrigation by means of nutrient solution had a positive effect on the seedling quality. Including the economic point of view, the recommended concentration of nutrient solution is 0.1%

Seasonal water requirements of maize in the region of Vojvodina

Global climate changes, which are characterized by an increase in temperature, reduction of precipitation, especially during the summer months, significantly affect the overall production of spring sowing crops. Maize is the predominant crop in Serbia. It is grown in about 1 million hectares with average yield about 7,9 t/ha. Precisely for that reason, in this paper, the analysis of water deficit on the maize fields in the region of Vojvodina was performed. The total used agricultural land of the surveyed area is about 1,574,365.71 ha, while the maize grown area occupies about 551,028 ha (35%). A series of meteorological data from the previous 20 years (2000 - 2019) from 7 meteorological stations of the Administrative Districts from the regions covered by the survey were used for the analysis. Evapotranspiration, crop evapotranspiration (maize), effective rainfall and water deficit were calculated using FAO-56 methodology. The amount of water consumed during the evapotranspiration process in the vegetation period averaging about 625.07 mm (from 597.4 mm in the North Bačka District to 646.8 mm in the West Bačka District). Maize has the greatest water requirement during the tasseling and silking phases, in July, when the largest water deficit is observed, which averages 152.51 mm (from 143.6 mm in the South Banat District to 159.2 mm in the Srem District). The seasonal water deficit averages 347.24 mm (from 310.8 mm in the area of South Bačka District to 369 mm in the area of West Bačka District). As the availability of water is a key factor for high and stable maize yields, this research aimed to examine the water requirements in the area where the maize represents more than half of the total production

Land use Effects on Soil Pore-Size Distribution and Soil Water Retention

Soil pore characteristics can have great impact on plant growth and environment. A study was conducted to evaluate the efects of different land use on porosity, pore size distribution (PSD) and soil water retention (SWR) of Fluvic Phaeozem in the Kolubara River valley, Serbia. The land use treatments included: natural forest, native meadow, and arable land managed in the same way for more than 100 years. Disturbed and intact soil samples were collected from three soil profiles at each of the three different land use types from depths of 0–15, 15–30 and 30–45 cm. The capillary rise equation was used to estimate effective pore sizes from water retention measurements. Pressure cells are used to mesure water retention in the water potential range from –33 to –1500 kPa. The bulk density (BD) was significantly (P 30 μm) were significantly higher for forest (10.93–16.19%) than meadow (4.77–5.74%) and arable (4.83–7.81%) land for 0–30 cm soil layer. Among the diferent land use types, forest and arable land had significantly higher mesopores (30–3 μm) volume compared with meadow. Mowing and tillage management significantly decreased volume of micropores < 3 μm diameter size at the 0–30 cm soil depth. The results showed that in the 0–0.15 m and 0.15–0.30 m depth soil layers, forest soils showed a significantly higher the available water capacity compared to meadow and arable lands. The S-index also detected clear differences among land uses. In this study, the soil water retention data are well described by the van Genuchten model. In conclusion, our results showed that total porosity, PSD, and moisture retention significantly changed because of the different management systems in the top 30 cm of soil, which can potentially influence crop yields and ecosystem function

Land use Effects on Soil Pore-Size Distribution and Soil Water Retention

Soil pore characteristics can have great impact on plant growt and environment. A study was conducted to evaluate the efects of different land use on porosity, pore size distribution (PSD) and soil water retention (SWR) of Fluvic Phaeozem in the Kolubara River valley, Serbia. The land use treatments included: natural forest, native meadow, and arable land managed in the same way for more than 100 years. Disturbed and intact soil samples were collected from three soil profiles at each of the three different land use types from depths of 0–15, 15–30 and 30–45 cm. The capillary rise equation was used to estimate effective pore sizes from water retention measurements. Pressure cells are used to mesure water retention in the water potential range from –33 to –1500 kPa. The bulk density (BD) was significantly (P 30 μm) were significantly higher for forest (10.93–16.19%) than meadow (4.77–5.74%) and arable (4.83–7.81%) land for 0–30 cm soil layer. Among the diferent land use types, forest and arable land had significantly higher mesopores (30–3 μm) volume compared with meadow. Mowing and tillage management significantly decreased volume of micropores < 3 μm diameter size at the 0–30 cm soil depth. The results showed that in the 0–0.15 m and 0.15–0.30 m depth soil layers, forest soils showed a significantly higher the available water capacity compared to meadow and arable lands. The S-index also detected clear differences among land uses. In this study, the soil water retention data are well described by the van Genuchten model. In conclusion, our results showed that total porosity, PSD, and moisture retention significantly changed because of the different management systems in the top 30 cm of soil, which can potentially influence crop yields and ecosystem functio

Correlation between Ground Measurements and UAV Sensed Vegetation Indices for Yield Prediction of Common Bean Grown under Different Irrigation Treatments and Sowing Periods

The objective of this study is to assess the possibility of using unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) multispectral imagery for rapid monitoring, water stress detection and yield prediction under different sowing periods and irrigation treatments of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris, L). The study used a two-factorial split-plot design, divided into subplots. There were three sowing periods (plots; I—mid April, II—end of May/beginning of June, III—third decade of June/beginning of July) and three levels of irrigation (subplots; full irrigation (F)—providing 100% of crop evapotranspiration (ETc), deficit irrigation (R)—providing 80% of ETc, and deficit irrigation (S) providing—60% of ETc). Canopy cover (CC), leaf area index (LAI), transpiration (T) and soil moisture (Sm) were monitored in all treatments during the growth period. A multispectral camera was mounted on a drone on seven occasions during two years of research which provided raw multispectral images. The NDVI (Normalized Difference Vegetation Index), MCARI1 (Modified Chlorophyll Absorption in Reflectance Index), NDRE (Normalized Difference Red Edge), GNDVI (Green Normalized Difference Vegetation Index) and Optimized Soil Adjusted Vegetation Index (OSAVI) were computed from the images. The results indicated that NDVI, MCARI1 and GNDVI derived from the UAV are sensitive to water stress in S treatments, while mild water stress among the R treatments could not be detected. The NDVI and MCARI1 of the II-S treatment predicted yields better (r2 = 0.65, y = 4.01 tha−1; r2 = 0.70, y = 4.28 tha−1) than of III-S (r2 = 0.012, y = 3.54 tha−1; r2 = 0.020, y = 3.7 tha−1). The use of NDVI and MCARI will be able to predict common bean yields under deficit irrigation conditions. However, remote sensing methods did not reveal pest invasion, so good yield predictions require observations in the field. Generally, a low-flying UAV proved to be useful for monitoring crop status and predicting yield and water stress in different irrigation regimes and sowing period

Water Requirements of Fruit and Vine Plantations in the Area of the Kolubara District in present and Future Conditions

Fruit and vine production in the territory of the Kolubara District encompasses 15,685 ha, which accounts for around 15.3% of the total plant production. When it comes to fruit plantations, plums are the most represented (70%), while peaches and strawberries account for only 0.3%. The aim of this research was to determine the seasonal water requirements of fruit trees in climate change condition, to find out wheter will be changes in irrigation requirement. In addition, the paper includes the analysis of water requirements for the future periods in order to enable producers to adapt their agronomy practices and growing systems to the forthcoming conditions. FAO methodology (FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper No. 56), was used to estimate the evapotranspiration, effective precipitation, crop evapotranspiration and water deficit, for 8 groups of fruit plantations: (I) apples, pears, plums, quinces, walnuts and hazels – the orchard without grass cover; (II) apples, pears, plums, quinces, walnuts and hazels – grassy orchard; (III) apricots and peaches – the orchard without grass cover; (IV) apricots and peaches – grassy orchard; (V) sweet cherries and sour cherries - the orchard without grass cover; (VI) sweet cherries and sour cherries - grassy orchard; (VII) strawberries, raspberries, blackberries and blueberries and (VIII) grapevine. The fruit plantations were categorised into the above-mentioned eight groups according to the length of the vegetation period and the crop coefficient values. The observed period from 2000–2019 and two future periods (2021–2040 and 2041–2060) were analysed. The climate data for the reference 2000–2019 period were obtained from the meteorological station in Valjevo. Data for the future climate were obtained using 8 climate models for the RCP 8.5 climate scenario. The paper provides the results obtained as the median of the calculations for eight climate models. The evapotranspiration value varies from 438.6, 429.0 and 440.5 mm for fruit trees from group V, respectively, to 892.2, 857.5 and 884.6 mm for fruit trees belonging to group II, with the average values of 596, 577.9 and 595.4 mm for the reference period, the future 2021–2040 and 2041–2060 periods, respectively. The seasonal water deficit varies from 88.0, 41.3, and 90.6 mm for grapevine (group VIII) to 405.6, 352.3, and 405.3 mm for fruit trees from group II, with the average values of 224.4, 198.7 and 245.3 mm for the reference period, and future 2021–2040 and 2041–2060 periods, respectively. The results of this research indicate that no significant differences in the water requirements between the future periods and the reference period