Abstract
Soil salinity and associated problems are the major challenge for the arid region of Northwest China. Strategies to cope with salinity, including a better understanding of the impacts of soil salinity on the crop coefficient (Kc), are essential for precision irrigation in arid regions. In this study, two years of non-weighing lysimeter (NWL) experiments were conducted to investigate the Kc of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) under different degrees of soil salinization. The stress coefficient (Ks) model was modified and validated based on the NWL and field experiments. Three irrigation water qualities (GW, groundwater, 1.27 g l−1; BW, brackish water, 3.03 g l−1; SW, saline water, 4.90 g l−1) were applied to mulched-drip irrigated cotton. Both NWL and field experiments revealed that BW and SW irrigation increased the soil salt content which reached the moderately saline soil level. Adjusted for local weather, the Kc-Local of cotton for the initial, middle and end seasons was 0.29, 1.10 and 0.52 under slightly saline soil (GW irrigation) and 0.24, 0.98 and 0.46 under moderately saline soil (BW and SW irrigation). In addition, the linear negative correlation relationships of soil ECe with yield response factor (Ky) and slope b (reduction in yield per increase in ECe beyond the ECe threshold) were developed. Furthermore, the Ks model was modified under salt stress conditions, which provided an acceptable Ks estimation under field conditions. These findings could be helpful for efficient water management in cotton cropping systems under mulched drip irrigation in arid regions.
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All data and materials that support the fndings of this study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Abbreviations
- NWL:
-
Non-weighing lysimeter
- K c :
-
Crop coefficient
- K c–Local :
-
Actual crop coefficient (the ratio of ETa and the ETo)
- K c-adj :
-
Kc under salt stress
- K c-ini :
-
Kc during the initial-season
- K c-mid :
-
Kc during the middle-season
- K c-end :
-
Kc at end of the late-season
- K s :
-
Stress coefficient
- K y :
-
Yield response factor
- b :
-
Reduction in yield per increase in ECe beyond the ECe threshold (%/(dS m−1))
- Bs a :
-
Actual biomass (kg ha−1)
- Bs m :
-
Maximum biomass (kg ha−1)
- EC 1 :5 :
-
Electrical conductivity of 1:5 soil to water extract from the root zone (dS m−1)
- EC e :
-
Electrical conductivity of the saturation extract from the root zone (dS m−1)
- EC e threshold :
-
Electrical conductivity of the saturation extract of the soil above which yield begins to decrease (dS m−1)
- ET o :
-
Reference crop evapotranspiration (mm)
- ET c :
-
Crop water requirement (mm)
- ET a :
-
Crop actual evapotranspiration (mm)
- I :
-
Irrigation amount (mm)
- P e :
-
Effective rainfall (mm)
- D p :
-
Deep percolation (mm)
- R off :
-
Runoff (mm)
- ΔS :
-
Variation in soil water storage (mm)
- GDD:
-
Growing degree days (℃)
- T max :
-
The daily maximum temperature (℃)
- T min :
-
The daily minimum temperature (℃)
- T basal :
-
The basal temperature (℃)
- GW:
-
Groundwater (1.27 g l−1)
- BW:
-
Brackish water (3.03 g l−1)
- SW:
-
Saline water (4.90 g l−1)
- R2 :
-
Determination coefficient
- RMSE:
-
Root mean square error
- NSE:
-
Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient
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Acknowledgements
This project was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (grant nos. 51790531 and 52179055), the Research & Development Support Program of China Institute of Water Resources and Hydropower Research (ID110145B0022021), and the Science and Technology Program of Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps (grant no. 2021DB012, 2022DB020).
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CM: Lysimeter and field experiment, Data analysis and curation, and Original draft. JW: Conceptualization, Methodology, Experimental design, Formal analysis, Data analysis, Resources, Review and editing. JL: Supervision, Funding acquisition, Project administration, Methodology, Review and editing.
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Ma, C., Wang, J. & Li, J. Evaluation of the effect of soil salinity on the crop coefficient (Kc) for cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) under mulched drip irrigation in arid regions. Irrig Sci 41, 235–249 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-022-00842-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-022-00842-7