Prioritizing the cultivation pattern of garden crops by combining the concepts of virtual water (case study of Kurdistan province)

Considering the crisis of water resources and spatial distribution of fertile lands, in order to reduce water consumption and increase food security, it is necessary to use a suitable cultivation model. The purpose of this research is to achieve a suitable cultivation pattern using the method of determining virtual water exchanges in Kurdistan province. The data of this research during the 10-year statistical period (1389 to 1398) in Kurdistan province includes information on the cultivated area and yield of 22 garden crops, irrigation information, meteorological data, population, per capita consumption of food products and their prices, which are calculated in Microsoft Excel ( 2021) has been accepted. The indices related to water requirement values, total virtual water, green virtual water, blue virtual water and virtual water balance were calculated for all selected products. In addition, the lack of attention to the spatial distribution of horticultural crops increased the average virtual water by 26.75 cubic meters per kilogram in Kurdistan province. Virtual water includes 97.4% of the total virtual water for all products investigated in the province, which shows the dependence of the agricultural sector on irrigation in the region. In general, by adopting three indicators of total virtual water, unit value of water and the ratio of required water to available virtual water among the horticultural crops examined, the most suitable cultivation pattern for Kurdistan province in order of priorities is horticultural crops such as seed crops, cold-season crops It is dry, nucleated and grainy. Based on the results of this research, it is suggested to the provincial managers related to the issue that in order to reduce the pressure on the water resources of Kurdistan province and virtual water exchanges, instead of paying attention to the seeded and seeded