An R-package to track soil water deficits in the root zone: when and how much to irrigate

Abstract

Irrigated areas have expanded globally to support the increasing population and mitigate the impacts of climate change and variability. The crop water balance accounting in the root zone estimates soil water deficits by considering water inputs and outputs that impact crop yield. In this study, we developed the CropWaterBalance R-package to assist users in irrigation scheduling. The package offers functionalities for estimating the reference evapotranspiration through various methods and comparing their performances. By incorporating user-provided management-allowed depletions, the package calculates several agrometeorological parameters including crop evapotranspiration rates, soil water deficit in the root zone, and water stress coefficient. The package also provides recommendations for irrigation timing and net irrigation depth.