The moisture uptake by plant from soil is a key process for plant growth and movement of water in the soil–plant system. A non-linear root water uptake (RWU) model was developed for a multi-layer crop root zone. The model comprised two parts: (1) model formulation and (2) moisture flow prediction. The developed model was tested for its efficiency in predicting moisture depletion in a non-uniform root zone. A field experiment on wheat (Triticum aestivum) was conducted in the sub-temperate sub-humid agro-climate of Solan, Himachal Pradesh, India. Model-predicted soil moisture parameters, i.e., moisture status at various depths, moisture depletion and soil moisture profile in the root zone, are in good agreement with experiment results. The results of simulation emphasize the utility of the RWU model across different agro-climatic regions. The model can be used for sound irrigation management especially in water-scarce humid, temperate, arid and semi-arid regions and can also be integrated with a water transport equation to predict the solute uptake by plant biomass.
Skip Nav Destination
Article navigation
Research Article|
April 01 2013
Soil moisture dynamics modeling considering multi-layer root zone
R. Kumar;
1Department of Civil Engineering, NIT, Hamirpur (HP), India
E-mail: [email protected]
Search for other works by this author on:
V. Shankar;
V. Shankar
1Department of Civil Engineering, NIT, Hamirpur (HP), India
Search for other works by this author on:
M. K. Jat
M. K. Jat
2Department of Civil Engineering, MNIT, Jaipur (Raj), India
Search for other works by this author on:
Water Sci Technol (2013) 67 (8): 1778–1785.
Article history
Received:
August 03 2012
Accepted:
December 11 2012
Citation
R. Kumar, V. Shankar, M. K. Jat; Soil moisture dynamics modeling considering multi-layer root zone. Water Sci Technol 1 April 2013; 67 (8): 1778–1785. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/wst.2013.054
Download citation file:
Sign in
Don't already have an account? Register
Client Account
You could not be signed in. Please check your email address / username and password and try again.
Could not validate captcha. Please try again.
eBook
Pay-Per-View Access
$38.00