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Evaluating the performance of SALTMED model under alternate irrigation using saline and fresh water strategies to winter wheat in the North China Plain

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Abstract

The effective water management in the North China Plain (NCP) needs a tool to predict winter wheat production due to water quality. A large quantity of brackish water is stored underground in this region, and whether this water can be used properly in agriculture is becoming a crucial issue that is about to be resolved. The SALTMED model is a generic modeling tool for efficient irrigation management strategies, especially for cyclic use of saline and fresh water as well as different water qualities, and it still needs further investigation for alternate irrigation using saline and fresh water at different growth stages of winter wheat. Therefore, the aim of this investigation was to evaluate the performance of SALTMED model and simulate the production of winter wheat grown under different irrigation strategies. Irrigation strategies comprised rain-fed cultivation (NI), fresh and saline water irrigation (FS), saline and fresh water irrigation (SF), saline water irrigation (SS), and fresh water irrigation (FF). Three-year observed data were used for the validations of SALTMED model. The values of evaluation indices of relative error, RMSE, NRMSE, index of agreement (D-index), and R2 between simulated and observed grain yield were 6.8%, 0.8, 10.7, 0.9, and 0.9, respectively. The model results supported and matched the observed data and indicated similar differences among the irrigated and rain-fed treatments. It is concluded that the SALTMED model is able to predict grain yield of winter wheat and its productivity under the alternate irrigation using saline and fresh water and their interaction in the climate condition of the NCP.

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Acknowledgements

This research was funded by the National Key Research and Development Program of China (2018YFE0107000), the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program, and the Elite Youth Program of Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS). Rajesh Kumar Soothar appreciates the Chinese Government Scholarship for supporting his study at the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Engineering Laboratory of Efficient Water Use of Crops and Disaster Loss Mitigation/Key Laboratory of Dryland Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China, Institute of Environment and Sustainable Development in Agriculture, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), Beijing, China

    Rajesh Kumar Soothar, Yanqing Zhang, Moussa Tankari & Yaosheng Wang

  2. Department of Irrigation and Drainage, Sindh Agriculture University, Tandojam, Pakistan

    Rajesh Kumar Soothar & Uris Mirjat

  3. Institute of Dryland Farming, Hebei Academy of Agriculture and Forestry Sciences, Hengshui, China

    Wenying Zhang

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  1. Rajesh Kumar Soothar
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  2. Wenying Zhang
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Correspondence to Yaosheng Wang.

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Soothar, R.K., Zhang, W., Zhang, Y. et al. Evaluating the performance of SALTMED model under alternate irrigation using saline and fresh water strategies to winter wheat in the North China Plain. Environ Sci Pollut Res 26, 34499–34509 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-019-06540-w

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