Development of the framework of an irrigation management optimization model considering crop rotation

Articles in Press

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

1 department of science and Water engineering , Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

2 Department of Applied Mathematics, Faculty of Mathematical Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran

Abstract

In arid and semi-arid countries such as Iran, the uneven spatial and temporal distribution of rainfall necessitates a reliance on irrigated agriculture for food production. Consequently, a substantial portion of water resources in these areas is devoted to agricultural use. Identifying strategies that reduce water consumption and enhance its efficiency in agriculture is, therefore, a top priority. This study employs crop rotation as a key variable in an optimization framework to calculate a matrix of impact coefficients based on insights from expert farmers. The entries of this matrix quantify the impact coefficients of sequential crop planting. The impact coefficient of crop rotation is integrated into a water allocation optimization model designed to maximize economic profitability, utilizing a genetic algorithm and the AquaCrop plug-in program. For this purpose, C# coding within the framework of Visual Studio was carried out to optimize three-, four-, five-, six-, and seven-year rotations with wheat, soybean, tomato, potato, corn, alfalfa, barley, and sugar beet. Moreover, the impact of crop rotation on crop yield and water allocation as well as the expected profitability per unit area was assessed using a valuation formula. Rotation Optimization results indicated that the four-year rotation yielded (sugar beet, corn, potato, tomato) the highest economic profit and the seven-year rotation emerged as the most effective in reducing allocated water volume (9.45%). Therefore, crop rotation optimization is a significant parameter for enhancing crop yield, boosting profitability, and achieving long-term water savings.

Keywords

Main Subjects

Iranian Journal of Soil and Water Research

Articles in Press, Accepted Manuscript
Available Online from 16 October 2024

Files

Share

How to cite

Statistics