SALTMED MODEL TO SIMULATE YIELD AND DRY MATTER FOR QUINOA CROP AND SOIL MOISTURE CONTENT UNDER DIFFERENT IRRIGATION STRATEGIES IN SOUTH ITALY

The aim of this research was to calibrate and validate the SALTMED model with soil moisture, total dry matter and yield data of Chenopodium quinoa Willd var. Titicaca grown in a Mediterranean environment of south Italy under different irrigation strategies. For this purpose the data used were obtained from a biannual field trial (2009-2010) performed at the experimental station of the CNR--Institute for Agricultural and Forest Mediterranean Systems (ISAFoM) on the Volturno river plain, an irrigated area of southern Italy; a control irrigation treatment where water was given to restore the root zone layer (0.0- 0.36 m) to 100% of its field capacity, and two other treatments where water given represented 50 and 25% of the water volume given for the control treatment. Two water qualities were used, saline and well water. The SALTMED model was calibrated using yield, total dry matter (including roots) and soil moisture data from 100% well water treatment in 2009. After the calibration, the model was validated using the same set of crop and soil parameters. The results indicated the model's ability to simulate with good precision, soil moisture values, total dry matter and grain yield for quinoa under different irrigation strategies with saline and fresh water for a two-year experiment.