University of Tehran Press Iranian Journal of Soil and Water Research 2008-479X 53 10 2022 12 22 Evaluation of ceres-maize model for simulation of maize under different scenarios of irrigation and nitrogen fertilizer management Evaluation of ceres-maize model for simulation of maize under different scenarios of irrigation and nitrogen fertilizer management 2295 2310 91484 10.22059/ijswr.2022.344865.669300 FA Karim Neysi M.Sc. Student of Irrigation and drainage, Department of Water Sciences and Engineering, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran. Aslan Egdernezhad Assistant Professor, Department of Water Sciences and Engineering, Ahvaz Branch, Islamic Azad University, Ahvaz, Iran. Fariborz Abbasi Professor of Irrigation and Drainage Engineering, Agricultural Engineering Research Institute (AERI), Agricultural Research, Education and Extension Organization (AREEO), Karaj, Iran. 0000-0002-0662-7723 Journal Article 2022 06 22 Crop modeling is a cheap, fast and powerful method to achieve the results of the effect of various factors on crop growth. Hence, crop models such as CERES-Maize have been developed to simulate plant performance. Given that the amounts of irrigation water and nitrogen fertilizer are two very important factors to improve corn yield; it is important to know the accuracy and error of the CERES-Maize model to simulate the yield of this crop under the mentioned treatments. Therefore, the present study was conducted at a 500-hectare farm of the Seed and Plant Breeding Research Institute located at 50.58° East longitude and 35.56° latitude on two corn cultivars (double cross 370 and single cross 260). For double cross 370, two factors including the amount of irrigation water at four levels (W1: 120, W2: 100, WI3: 80 and W4: 60 percent of water requirement) and nitrogen fertilizer at four levels (N1: 100, N2: 80, N3: 60 and N4: zero percent of nitrogen requirement) were considered. For single cross 260, four fertilizer levels (N1: 100, N2: 80 and N3: 60 and N4: 50 percent of nitrogen requirement) were studied. The results for both cultivars showed that the CERES-Maize model underestimated crop yield (0 ≥ MBE). The amount of error for simulating yield of double cross cultivar 370 and single cross cultivar 260 was 1.24 and 0.44 tons per hectare, respectively. The accuracy of CERES-Maize model for simulating these two cultivars was in the category of good (NRMSE = 0.13) and excellent (NRMSE = 0.06), respectively. The error of CERES-Maize model for double cross cultivar 370 and for irrigation treatments was in the range of 0.89-1.65 t/ha and for fertilizer treatments was in the range of 0.43-9.9 t/ha. No difference was observed between the model errors in two fertilizer applications. Therefore, the model was not sensitive to fertilizer apportionment, while changes in irrigation water and fertilizer amount had a great effect on its accuracy. Based on all the results, the CERES-Maize model is recommended for simulation of both corn cultivars, although its accuracy was higher for the single cross 260 cultivar. Crop modeling is a cheap, fast and powerful method to achieve the results of the effect of various factors on crop growth. Hence, crop models such as CERES-Maize have been developed to simulate plant performance. Given that the amounts of irrigation water and nitrogen fertilizer are two very important factors to improve corn yield; it is important to know the accuracy and error of the CERES-Maize model to simulate the yield of this crop under the mentioned treatments. Therefore, the present study was conducted at a 500-hectare farm of the Seed and Plant Breeding Research Institute located at 50.58° East longitude and 35.56° latitude on two corn cultivars (double cross 370 and single cross 260). For double cross 370, two factors including the amount of irrigation water at four levels (W1: 120, W2: 100, WI3: 80 and W4: 60 percent of water requirement) and nitrogen fertilizer at four levels (N1: 100, N2: 80, N3: 60 and N4: zero percent of nitrogen requirement) were considered. For single cross 260, four fertilizer levels (N1: 100, N2: 80 and N3: 60 and N4: 50 percent of nitrogen requirement) were studied. The results for both cultivars showed that the CERES-Maize model underestimated crop yield (0 ≥ MBE). The amount of error for simulating yield of double cross cultivar 370 and single cross cultivar 260 was 1.24 and 0.44 tons per hectare, respectively. The accuracy of CERES-Maize model for simulating these two cultivars was in the category of good (NRMSE = 0.13) and excellent (NRMSE = 0.06), respectively. The error of CERES-Maize model for double cross cultivar 370 and for irrigation treatments was in the range of 0.89-1.65 t/ha and for fertilizer treatments was in the range of 0.43-9.9 t/ha. No difference was observed between the model errors in two fertilizer applications. Therefore, the model was not sensitive to fertilizer apportionment, while changes in irrigation water and fertilizer amount had a great effect on its accuracy. Based on all the results, the CERES-Maize model is recommended for simulation of both corn cultivars, although its accuracy was higher for the single cross 260 cultivar. https://ijswr.ut.ac.ir/article_91484_c5577816b4cbdf20f74c3beec07fca9d.pdf