Comparison of Different Lateral Depths and Irrigation Scenarios for Optimal Sorghum Cultivation using HYDRUS-2D
Abstract
This study aims to evaluate the HYDRUS-2D model’s ability to simulate soil water content in the soil profile under sweet sorghum with drip irrigation at different lateral depths and irrigation levels. It also aims to determine the optimal lateral depth by numerically evaluating various depth scenarios. The study was carried out in Antalya, Turkey, in 2020 and 2021, using a randomized block design with three replications. Three irrigation levels, 33% (S33), 66% (S66), and 100% (S100) of reference evapotranspiration, were applied when cumulative ET₀ reached 25 ± 5 mm. Two lateral depths, 25 cm (D25) and 50 cm (D50), were used. Soil water contents measured at 20, 40, and 60 cm were used in both the calibration and validation phases. To examine the effect of lateral depth on soil water variations, five additional scenarios (20, 30, 40, 50, and 60 cm) were modeled using the same inputs. During the calibration phase, R² values ranged from 0.90 to 0.99, the root mean square errors (RMSEs) from 0.01 to 0.03 cm3 cm-3, and the mean absolute errors (MAEs) from 0.01 to 0.06 cm3 cm-3 at the three depths. It was concluded that the model provided the most consistent and reliable water content predictions at a soil depth of 40 cm. In contrast, no trend was observed during the validation phase, suggesting that the model's prediction accuracy varied with different soil depths. Additionally, model simulations indicated that a 30 cm lateral depth was the most suitable among the evaluated scenarios; however, this result is subject to the assumptions and constraints of the HYDRUS-2D modeling framework, in which only lateral depth was varied while other conditions were held constant.
Keywords
References
- Allen R G, Pereira L S, Raes D & Smith M (1998). Crop evapotranspiration: Guidelines for computing crop water requirements (FAO Irrigation and Drainage Paper No. 56). Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
- Appiah-Nkansah N B, Li J, Rooney W & Wang D (2019). A review of sweet sorghum as a viable renewable bioenergy crop and its techno economic analysis. Renewable Energy 143: 1121–1132. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.renene.2019.05.066
- Arbat G, Cufí S, Duran-Ros M, Pinsach J, Puig-Bargués J, Pujol J & Ramírez de Cartagena F (2020). Modeling approaches for determining dripline depth and irrigation frequency of subsurface drip irrigated rice on different soil textures. Water 12(6): 1724. https://doi.org/10.3390/w12061724
- Aydinsakir K, Buyuktas D, Dinç N, Erdurmus C, Bayram E & Yegin A B (2021). Yield and bioethanol productivity of sorghum under surface and subsurface drip irrigation. Agricultural Water Management 243: 106452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agwat.2020.106452
- Belmans C, Wesseling J G & Feddes R A (1983). Simulation model of the water balance of a cropped soil: SWATRE. Journal of Hydrology 63: 271–286. https://doi.org/10.1016/0022-1694(83)90045-8
- Blake G R & Hartge K H (1986). Bulk density. In A. Klute (Ed.), Methods of soil analysis: Part 1. Physical and mineralogical methods (2nd ed., pp. 363–382). American Society of Agronomy; Soil Science Society of America.
- Bufon V B, Lascano R J, Bednarz C, Booker J D & Gitz D C (2012). Soil water content on drip irrigated cotton: Comparison of measured and simulated values obtained with the HYDRUS-2D model. Irrigation Science 30(4): 259–273. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-011-0279-z
- Cote C M, Bristow K L, Charlesworth P B, Cook F J & Thorburn P J (2003). Analysis of soil wetting and solute transport in subsurface trickle irrigation. Irrigation Science 22: 143–156. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00271-003-0080-8
Details
Primary Language
English
Subjects
Agricultural Water Management
Journal Section
Research Article
Authors
Begüm Polat
*
0000-0001-6493-4118
Türkiye
Dursun Büyüktaş
0000-0002-9130-9112
Türkiye
Jiří šimůnek
0000-0002-0166-6563
United States
Publication Date
October 12, 2026
Submission Date
December 18, 2025
Acceptance Date
March 30, 2026
Published in Issue
Year 2026 Volume: 32 Number: 4