Abstract
THE HYDRO- CLIMATE WATER BALANCE AND ITS IMPACT ON WATER CONSUMPTION REQUIREMENTS FOR HORTICULTURAL CROPS IN AL-JADWAL AL-GHARBI DISTRICT IN KARBALA GOVERNORATE
The study intends to compute the hydroclimate balance and how it affects the water needs for horticultural crops on agricultural lands in the Karbala Governorate's Al-Jadwal Al-Gharbi district. With 253,000 dunums of land set aside for horticulture during the 2014– 2024 growing season, the district is primarily an agricultural area, with orchards accounting for a significant portion of its agricultural investment.
Since climate has become a research focus, it is important to show how the climate factor affects the amount of water needed in the study area to cultivate the largest area of arable land. In order to determine the potential evaporation/transpiration coefficient, the water-climatic balance of the study area, and the magnitude of the water surplus and water deficit in the area, it is necessary to examine the factors that contribute to the variation in these water needs.
In order to estimate the amount of water consumption for horticultural crops, the research used a statistical approach, the (Blini-Criddle) coefficient to calculate the amount of evaporation- transpiration, and the (COP WAT 8.0) program. It provides accurate results in calculating water consumption and is independent of multiple and overlapping factors. It is dependent upon the average monthly maximum and minimum temperature, relative humidity, winds adjusted to sea level, and the number of hours of solar radiation during the day.
Keywords
Climate, water consumption, horticulture, Al-Jadwal Al- Gharbi.
