Scenario analysis for cereal management in water-limited conditions by the means of a crop simulation model (STICS)

Crop simulation models are frequently used to evaluate the impacts of water resources (soil, weather and irrigation) on crop production and the environment. This study illustrates the possibilities offered by STICS 4.0 in water-limited environments. Numerical experiments were carried out on winter wheat in order to evaluate drought escape and crop rationing in 3 climatic environments: Avignon, Meknes (Morocco) and Toulouse. The Passioura [33] framework which disaggregates grain yield of cereals into 3 terms: water transpired, transpiration efficiency and the harvest index, was used to analyze the simulation results. Interactions between cultivar earliness and water supply were shown for yield: early-maturing genotypes yielded more in semi-arid conditions because of terminal stress; where intermittent stress was observed (as in Toulouse), no stable ranking was observed between cultivars differing by the date of anthesis.[...]