Improving the Sustainability and Profitability of Oat and Garlic Crops in a Mediterranean Agro-Ecosystem under Water-Scarce Conditions
In areas with scarce water resources, population growth and climate change scenarios will mean that there is increasingly less water available for agricultural activity. Thus, optimizing crop irrigation water management is an absolute necessity. To address this situation, the SUPROMED project (susta...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Agronomy |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/8/1950 |
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| author | José Antonio Martínez-López Ramón López-Urrea Ángel Martínez-Romero José Jesús Pardo Francisco Montoya Alfonso Domínguez |
| author_facet | José Antonio Martínez-López Ramón López-Urrea Ángel Martínez-Romero José Jesús Pardo Francisco Montoya Alfonso Domínguez |
| author_sort | José Antonio Martínez-López |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In areas with scarce water resources, population growth and climate change scenarios will mean that there is increasingly less water available for agricultural activity. Thus, optimizing crop irrigation water management is an absolute necessity. To address this situation, the SUPROMED project (sustainable production in water-limited environments of Mediterranean agro-ecosystems), available in an online platform, brings together a series of models and methodologies designed to promote more efficient management of water, energy and fertilizers. A two-year trial (2020–2021) was implemented in the Castilla-La Mancha region (Spain), with the aim of showing the effectiveness of SUPROMED as a farm management support tool. The trial was conducted on two of the region’s most important crops (oats and garlic). A series of productive, economic, and environmental key performance indicators (KPIs) were analyzed to measure the impact of transferring MOPECO (model for the economic optimization of irrigation water use at farm level), the irrigation scheduling model integrated in the SUPROMED platform, to farmers. In 2020, the management plan proposed by SUPROMED achieved a higher yield for oat than that generated by traditional management, using 40% less water. In the case of garlic, the same yield was obtained, using 30% less water. Gross margin and gross economic irrigation water productivity were improved for both crops. In 2021, one of the selected farmers was trained to use the SUPROMED platform to work with garlic crop. This management improved most of the KPIs analyzed compared to previous management without the SUPROMED platform, obtaining similar results to those obtained by SUPROMED in 2020. The results demonstrate that the tools and models included in SUPROMED have been properly adapted and can be easily used by farmers, improving the economic and environmental sustainability of Mediterranean agroecosystems. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:02:18Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3a9c9195ecbb469fbe390413c645076c |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2073-4395 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T10:02:18Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Agronomy |
| spelling | doaj.art-3a9c9195ecbb469fbe390413c645076c2023-12-01T23:18:35ZengMDPI AGAgronomy2073-43952022-08-01128195010.3390/agronomy12081950Improving the Sustainability and Profitability of Oat and Garlic Crops in a Mediterranean Agro-Ecosystem under Water-Scarce ConditionsJosé Antonio Martínez-López0Ramón López-Urrea1Ángel Martínez-Romero2José Jesús Pardo3Francisco Montoya4Alfonso Domínguez5Centro Regional de Estudios del Agua (CREA), Universidad de Castilla La Mancha (UCLM), 02071 Ciudad Real, SpainInstituto Técnico Agronómico Provincial de Albacete (ITAP), Parque Empresarial Campollano, 2a Avenida No 61, 02007 Albacete, SpainCentro Regional de Estudios del Agua (CREA), Universidad de Castilla La Mancha (UCLM), 02071 Ciudad Real, SpainCentro Regional de Estudios del Agua (CREA), Universidad de Castilla La Mancha (UCLM), 02071 Ciudad Real, SpainCentro Regional de Estudios del Agua (CREA), Universidad de Castilla La Mancha (UCLM), 02071 Ciudad Real, SpainCentro Regional de Estudios del Agua (CREA), Universidad de Castilla La Mancha (UCLM), 02071 Ciudad Real, SpainIn areas with scarce water resources, population growth and climate change scenarios will mean that there is increasingly less water available for agricultural activity. Thus, optimizing crop irrigation water management is an absolute necessity. To address this situation, the SUPROMED project (sustainable production in water-limited environments of Mediterranean agro-ecosystems), available in an online platform, brings together a series of models and methodologies designed to promote more efficient management of water, energy and fertilizers. A two-year trial (2020–2021) was implemented in the Castilla-La Mancha region (Spain), with the aim of showing the effectiveness of SUPROMED as a farm management support tool. The trial was conducted on two of the region’s most important crops (oats and garlic). A series of productive, economic, and environmental key performance indicators (KPIs) were analyzed to measure the impact of transferring MOPECO (model for the economic optimization of irrigation water use at farm level), the irrigation scheduling model integrated in the SUPROMED platform, to farmers. In 2020, the management plan proposed by SUPROMED achieved a higher yield for oat than that generated by traditional management, using 40% less water. In the case of garlic, the same yield was obtained, using 30% less water. Gross margin and gross economic irrigation water productivity were improved for both crops. In 2021, one of the selected farmers was trained to use the SUPROMED platform to work with garlic crop. This management improved most of the KPIs analyzed compared to previous management without the SUPROMED platform, obtaining similar results to those obtained by SUPROMED in 2020. The results demonstrate that the tools and models included in SUPROMED have been properly adapted and can be easily used by farmers, improving the economic and environmental sustainability of Mediterranean agroecosystems.https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/8/1950irrigation schedulingMOPECO modelwater productivitysemi-arid areaskey performance indicators |
| spellingShingle | José Antonio Martínez-López Ramón López-Urrea Ángel Martínez-Romero José Jesús Pardo Francisco Montoya Alfonso Domínguez Improving the Sustainability and Profitability of Oat and Garlic Crops in a Mediterranean Agro-Ecosystem under Water-Scarce Conditions Agronomy irrigation scheduling MOPECO model water productivity semi-arid areas key performance indicators |
| title | Improving the Sustainability and Profitability of Oat and Garlic Crops in a Mediterranean Agro-Ecosystem under Water-Scarce Conditions |
| title_full | Improving the Sustainability and Profitability of Oat and Garlic Crops in a Mediterranean Agro-Ecosystem under Water-Scarce Conditions |
| title_fullStr | Improving the Sustainability and Profitability of Oat and Garlic Crops in a Mediterranean Agro-Ecosystem under Water-Scarce Conditions |
| title_full_unstemmed | Improving the Sustainability and Profitability of Oat and Garlic Crops in a Mediterranean Agro-Ecosystem under Water-Scarce Conditions |
| title_short | Improving the Sustainability and Profitability of Oat and Garlic Crops in a Mediterranean Agro-Ecosystem under Water-Scarce Conditions |
| title_sort | improving the sustainability and profitability of oat and garlic crops in a mediterranean agro ecosystem under water scarce conditions |
| topic | irrigation scheduling MOPECO model water productivity semi-arid areas key performance indicators |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/12/8/1950 |
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