Marrocu et al. (2025) Integrating deficit irrigation, crop modelling and Water–Energy–Food nexus to enhance durum wheat resilience in Mediterranean climate conditions

Identification

• Journal: Agricultural Water Management
• Year: 2025
• Date: 2025-11-26
• Authors: Marino Marrocu, M. Dettori, Luca Massidda, Giulia Urracci, Gabriella Pusceddu, Valentina Mereu, Simone Manca, Gianluca Carboni
• DOI: 10.1016/j.agwat.2025.110001

Research Groups

• CRS4, Center for Advanced Studies, Research and Development in Sardinia, Italy
• AGRIS, Agricultural Research Agency of Sardinia, Italy
• CMCC Foundation – Euro-Mediterranean Center on Climate Change, Italy

Short Summary

This study evaluates the impact of deficit irrigation on durum wheat yield and quality in southern Sardinia over two cropping seasons and two soil types, integrating agronomic monitoring, remote sensing, and crop modeling within a Water–Energy–Food (WEF) nexus framework. It found that moderate deficit irrigation (50% of plant water requirement) significantly improved grain yield and was comparable to full irrigation in efficiency, offering a sustainable strategy for food security in drought-prone Mediterranean regions.

Objective

• To evaluate the effect of three water regimes (full irrigation, reduced irrigation, no irrigation) on durum wheat production and quality in southern Sardinia.
• To integrate agronomic monitoring, remote sensing, and crop modeling (AquaCrop) to track soil moisture dynamics and inform irrigation decisions.
• To conduct a Water–Energy–Food (WEF) nexus analysis to assess the costs and benefits of deficit irrigation for durum wheat, enhancing resilience and sustainability in Mediterranean climate conditions.

Study Configuration

• Spatial Scale: Two experimental sites (Benatzu and Ussana) in southern Sardinia, Italy, separated by a few hundred meters, each with an area of 13,000 m². Benatzu has clay loam soil, and Ussana has sandy clay loam soil.
• Temporal Scale: Two cropping seasons (2022–2023 and 2023–2024).

Methodology and Data

• Models used:
  • AquaCrop (FAO crop water productivity model) for simulating soil water dynamics and plant water status.
  • FAO-56 single crop coefficient method for assessing durum wheat water requirements and calculating daily reference evapotranspiration (ET0) using the FAO Penman–Monteith equation.
• Data sources:
  • Field trials: Agronomic data collected from 12 plots (approximately 430 m² each) per site, including grain yield, protein yield, biomass, 1000-grain weight, test weight, protein content, gluten index, and harvest index.
  • In situ monitoring: Daily meteorological data (Tmax, Tmin, average air temperatures, precipitation, relative humidity, wind speed, solar global radiation) from automated meteorological stations at each experimental site.
  • Remote sensing: Copernicus/Sentinel-2 Level 2A satellite data to calculate Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) for monitoring crop health and biomass.
  • Soil data: Physical, chemical, and hydraulic characteristics (sand, silt, clay, texture, organic carbon, organic matter, total nitrogen, Cation Exchange Capacity, Field Capacity, Wilting Point) of soils at both sites.
  • Energy and economic data: Unitary energy (MJ) and economic (Euro) costs/margins for inputs (human labor, machinery, diesel fuel, fertilizers, seeds, irrigation) and outputs (yield), estimated from real-life cost/income analysis in Sardinia.

Main Results

• Irrigation significantly increased durum wheat yields compared to rainfed conditions (I0). Deficit irrigation (I50) improved grain yield by 53.5% and full irrigation (I100) by 65.4% compared to I0.
• No statistically significant differences were found between I100 and I50 for most traits, particularly in the wetter 2023 season. In the drier 2024 season, I100 showed significantly higher grain yield and dry matter yield than I50 at Ussana.
• Ussana (sandy clay loam soil) generally outyielded Benatzu (clay loam soil) in both years and all treatments, suggesting the importance of soil properties for crop performance and resilience.
• Irrigation increased 1000-Kernel Weight (TKW) and Test Weight (TW), indicating improved grain size and milling quality.
• Protein content showed a general decreasing trend with increased water supply, but irrigation improved overall technological quality (e.g., gluten index) by supporting better grain filling and potentially higher nitrogen uptake with increased fertilization.
• Total energy input ranged from 14,033 MJ ha⁻¹ to 19,368 MJ ha⁻¹, increasing with water supply. Irrigation accounted for a relatively small share of total energy demand (0 to 2,160 MJ ha⁻¹).
• Energy Use Efficiency (EUE) varied from 1.35 to 3.39. The I50 strategy often achieved EUE values comparable to or higher than I100, while requiring substantially lower irrigation water and energy inputs, positioning it as a more efficient management option within the WEF nexus.
• NDVI trends clearly differentiated irrigation treatments, with I0 consistently lower than irrigated plots, and I50 aligning more closely with I100, confirming real-time irrigation effectiveness.

Contributions

• This study addresses a significant research gap by specifically evaluating the role of deficit irrigation in enhancing durum wheat yield and quality within a comprehensive Water–Energy–Food (WEF) nexus framework, moving beyond yield and water use as sole indicators.
• It provides a site-specific approach integrating agronomic practices, energy consumption, and soil–water–plant dynamics through crop modeling (AquaCrop), in situ monitoring, and remote sensing.
• It demonstrates that moderate deficit irrigation (I50) can be a viable and resource-efficient strategy for durum wheat in Mediterranean drought-prone areas, offering a robust compromise between production stability, water saving, and energy use, comparable to full irrigation but with lower environmental footprint.
• The research highlights the critical role of soil properties in influencing WEF dynamics and supports the need for site-specific approaches in designing sustainable resource management strategies under climate change.

Funding

• European Union’s Horizon 2020 SOCIETAL CHALLENGES - Climate action, Environment, Resource Efficiency and Raw Materials programme under Grant Agreement No. 10107424, project ARSINOE: Climate-resilient regions through systemic solutions and innovations.
• Autonomous Region of Sardinia under project XDATA (RAS Art9 LR 20/2015).

Citation

@article{Marrocu2025Integrating,
  author = {Marrocu, Marino and Dettori, M. and Massidda, Luca and Urracci, Giulia and Pusceddu, Gabriella and Mereu, Valentina and Manca, Simone and Carboni, Gianluca},
  title = {Integrating deficit irrigation, crop modelling and Water–Energy–Food nexus to enhance durum wheat resilience in Mediterranean climate conditions},
  journal = {Agricultural Water Management},
  year = {2025},
  doi = {10.1016/j.agwat.2025.110001},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2025.110001}
}

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