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Evaluating the Sustainable Use of Saline Water Irrigation on Soil Water-Salt Content and Grain Yield under Subsurface Drainage Condition

Author

Listed:
  • Genxiang Feng

    (College of Water Conservancy and Hydropower Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China
    College of Agricultural Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China)

  • Zhanyu Zhang

    (College of Agricultural Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China)

  • Zemin Zhang

    (College of Agricultural Engineering, Hohai University, Nanjing 210098, China)

Abstract

A sustainable irrigation system is known to improve the farmland soil water-salt environment and increase crop yields. However, the sustainable use of saline irrigation water under proper drainage measures still needs further study. In this study, a two-year experiment was performed to assess the sustainable effects of saline water irrigation under subsurface drainage condition. A coupled model consisting of the HYDRUS-2D model and EPIC module was used to investigate the effects of irrigation water salinity (IWS) and subsurface drainage depth (SDD) on soil water-salt content and summer maize yield when saline water was adopted for irrigation under different subsurface drainage measures. Summer maize in the two-year experiments were irrigated with saline water of three different salinity levels (0.78, 3.75, and 6.25 dS m −1 ) under three different drainage conditions (no subsurface drainage, drain depth of 80 cm, and drain depth of 120 cm). The field observed data such as soil water content, soil salinity within root zone, ET and grain yield in 2016 and 2017 were used for calibration and validation, respectively. The calibration and validation results indicated that there was good correlation between the field measured data and the HYDRUS-EPIC model simulated data, where RMSE, NSE (> 0.50), and R 2 (> 0.70) satisfied the requirements of model accuracy. Based on a seven × seven (IWS × SDD) scenario simulation, the effects of IWS and SDD on summer maize relative grain yield and water use efficiency (WUE) were evaluated in the form of a contour map; the relative grain yield and WUE obtained peak values when drain depth was around 100 cm, where the relative yield of summer maize was about 0.82 and 0.53 at IWS of 8 and 12 dS m −1 , and the mean WUE was 1.66 kg m −3 . The proper IWS under subsurface drainage systems was also optimized by the scenario simulation results; the summer maize relative yield was still about 0.80 even when the IWS was as high as 8.61 dS m −1 . In summary, subsurface drainage measures may provide important support for the sustainable utilization of saline water in irrigation. Moreover, the coupled HYDRUS-EPIC model should be a beneficial tool to evaluate future sustainability of the irrigation system.

Suggested Citation

  • Genxiang Feng & Zhanyu Zhang & Zemin Zhang, 2019. "Evaluating the Sustainable Use of Saline Water Irrigation on Soil Water-Salt Content and Grain Yield under Subsurface Drainage Condition," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(22), pages 1-18, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:22:p:6431-:d:287442
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    3. Neha & Gajender Yadav & Rajender Kumar Yadav & Ashwani Kumar & Aravind Kumar Rai & Junya Onishi & Keisuke Omori & Parbodh Chander Sharma, 2022. "Salt Removal through Residue-Filled Cut-Soiler Simulated Preferential Shallow Subsurface Drainage Improves Yield, Quality and Plant Water Relations of Mustard ( Brassica juncea L.)," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(7), pages 1-18, March.

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