Evaluation of the FAO Aquacrop Model for Bell Pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) Crop Water Productivity under Deficit Irrigation

With the drive to determine solutions for water scarcity during crop production, crop production models, such as AquaCrop, were used to model the crop water productivity of bell pepper. This study was conducted in La Paz, Zamboanga City, Philippines, to simulate and validate the crop water productivity of the Emperor F1 variety of bell pepper cultivated under deficit irrigation. Bell peppers were produced until the onset of flowering, randomly arranged according to three levels of irrigation applied, which are 80%, 70%, and 60% of the full irrigation treatment. Calibration of AquaCrop was conducted following a full irrigation treatment. The model was validated following the variation in the amount of irrigation applied. Plant height, leaf length, fresh and dryabove-ground biomass, and crop water productivity were determined and statistically analyzed. Modeling resulted in excellent goodness of fit for the RMSE test and moderate agreement for the index of agreement. This study showed that deficit irrigation is a viable method in water management for bell pepper production, especially in farm areas where water rationing is limited. Using AquaCrop to simulate crop water productivity is a feasible solution to help farmers determine whether the intended irrigation strategy will best fit bell pepper production.