Determination of optimal regulated deficit irrigation strategies for maize in a semi-arid environment

For a certain overall deficit target, this paper develops a methodology (Optimized Regulated Deficit Irrigation (ORDI)) for determining the stress level (in terms of the rate between actual crop evapotranspiration (ETa) and maximum evapotranspiration (ETm)) that can be applied to each growth period for maximum yield. ORDI is based on the equation proposed by Stewart et al. (1977) and compatible with the MOPECO model. Once the equation is calibrated and validated, ORDI just requires adjusting the determining factors for optimization.