rop simulation models play a pivotal role in evaluating irrigation management strategies to improve water use in agriculture. The aim of this study is to verify the validity of the Aquacrop model of maize under the surface and sprinkler irrigation systems, and a cultivation system, borders and furrows, and for two varieties of Maze (Fajr and Drakma) At two different sites in Iraq, Babylon and Al-Qadisiyah governorates. An experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of the Aquacrop model in simulating canopy cover (CC), biomass (B), dry yield, harvest index (HI), and water productivity (WP). The results of RMSE, R2, MAE, d, NSE, CC, Pe indicated good results and high compatibility between measured and simulated values. The highest achieved results were identical to the method of sprinkler irrigation due to the decrease in the amount of water consumed and the furrows cultivation method as the aerial roots were covered and the cultivar was Drakma. The highest values for the statistical data were R2 (90 and 96%), RMSE (0.60, 0.73), MAE (0.5, 0.67), d (0.97, 0.97), NSE (0.87, 0.90), for Babylon and Al-Qadisiyah sites, respectively. As for the CC values, they were very compatible with the values of R2 and ranged between (92 - 99) %. The prediction error was Pe and minor errors were found. Thus, the Aquacrop model can be used reliably to evaluate the effectiveness of proposed irrigation management strategies for maize.
