Water Use Efficiency in Rice Under Alternative Wetting and Drying Technique Using Energy Balance Model with UAV Information and AquaCrop in Lambayeque, Peru

Ramos-Fernández L.; Peña-Amaro R.; Huanuqueño-Murillo J.; Quispe-Tito D.; Maldonado-Huarhuachi M.; Heros-Aguilar E.; Flores del Pino L.; Pino-Vargas E.; Quille-Mamani J.; Torres-Rua A. · Remote Sensing (2024) · DOI: 10.3390/rs16203882

Resumen

In the context of global warming, rising air temperatures are increasing evapotranspiration ((Formula presented.)) in all agricultural crops, including rice, a staple food worldwide. Simultaneously, the occurrence of droughts is reducing water availability, affecting traditional irrigation methods for rice cultivation (flood irrigation). The objective of this study was to determine (Formula presented.) (water use) and yield performance in rice crop under different irrigation regimes: treatments with continuous flood irrigation (CF) and irrigations with alternating wetting and drying ((Formula presented.), (Formula presented.), and (Formula presented.)) in an experimental area in INIA–Vista Florida. Water balance, rice physiological data, and yield were measured in the field, and local weather data and thermal and multispectral images were collected with a meteorological station and a UAV (a total of 13 flights). (Formula presented.) values obtained by applying the METRICTM (Mapping Evapotranspiration at High Resolution using Internalized Calibration) energy balance model ranged from 2.4 to 8.9 mm d−1 for the AWD and CF irrigation regimes. In addition, (Formula presented.) was estimated by a water balance using the AquaCrop model, previously parameterized with RGB image data and field weather data, soil, irrigation water, and crops, obtaining values between 4.3 and 7.1 mm d−1 for the AWD and CF irrigation regimes. The results indicated that AWD irrigation allows for water savings of 27 to 28%, although it entails a yield reduction of from 2 to 15%, which translates into an increase in water use efficiency (WUE) of from 18 to 36%, allowing for optimizing water use and improving irrigation management.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina; Universidad Nacional Jorge Basadre Grohmann