Performance Evaluation of Four Models for Estimating the Capillary Rise in Wheat Crop Root Zone Considering Shallow Water Table

Capillary rise through a shallow water table is a vital source of water transport in the soil moisture movement system. However, field observation of the capillary rise is difficult, nearly impractical, and economically unfeasible. Therefore, dependency on the adaptation of capillary rise models increases. The present study aims to evaluate the performance of four models for estimating the capillary rise from the crop root zone of Wheat (Triticum aestivum). Essential model parameters are observed from field experiments conducted at Hamirpur (India) under controlled conditions for two consecutive crop seasons. Qualitative and quantitative analysis is carried out between the observed and estimated cumulative capillary rise. Results suggest that Modified Averianov formula has better agreement with observed values with RMSE, R2, and Nash-Sutcliffe efficiency values of 0.04, 0.71, 0.74, and 0.06, 0.67, 0.72 during 2016 and 2017 growing seasons, respectively. The results of the study can be utilized for providing intelligent information in designing irrigation schedules, and the number of irrigation events under the effect of the shallow water table to obtain optimum yield and subsequently, help in optimizing the use of irrigation water.