Adopting adequate leaching requirement for practical response models of basil to salinity

Abstract

A b s t r a c t. Several mathematical models are being used for assessing plant response to salinity of the root zone. Objectives of this study included quantifying the yield salinity threshold value of basil plants to irrigation water salinity and investigating the possibilities of using irrigation water salinity instead of saturated extract salinity in the available mathematical models for estimating yield. To achieve the above objectives, an extensive greenhouse experiment was conducted with 13 irrigation water salinity levels, namely 1.175 dS m -1 (control treatment) and 1.8 to 10 dS m -1 . The result indicated that, among these models, the modified discount model (one of the most famous root water uptake model which is based on statistics) produced more accurate results in simulating the basil yield reduction function using irrigation water salinities. Overall the statistical model of Steppuhn et al. on the modified discount model and the math-empirical model of van Genuchten and Hoffman provided the best results. In general, all of the statistical models produced very similar results and their results were better than math-empirical models. It was also concluded that if enough leaching was present, there was no significant difference between the soil salinity saturated extract models and the models using irrigation water salinity.K e y w o r d s: irrigation water, mathematical models, salinity, threshold value INTRODUCTION

Growth, photosynthesis and production of safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) in response to different levels of salinity and drought

“…The harmful impacts of salinity and drought stress are becoming more intense in areas where saline water is used for irrigation (Babazadeh et al, 2016). In this study, plant growth properties were affected by both salinity and irrigation treatments, either applied alone or in combination.…”

Basil root water uptake derived models under combined water and nitrogen deficit conditions

“…Based on the LS model at any time, one growth factor which is the most restrictive determines crop yield and the crop response to this factor is linear. The MB model in fact follows a physiological basis which states that the addition of one element to the root zone causes saturation of the root protein transporter which is the transporter of the element from the surface into the root (Black, ; Ben‐Gal and Shani, ; Sarai Tabrizi, ; Babazadeh et al, ).…”