The concept of soil depletion factor revisited and applied to determine the crop-specific fraction of total available water

The concept of soil depletion factor revisited and applied to determine the crop-specific fraction of total available water | Authorea try { document.documentElement.classList.add('js'); } catch (e) { } var _gaq = _gaq || []; _gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'G-8VDV14Y67G']); _gaq.push(['_trackPageview']); (function() { var ga = document.createElement('script'); ga.type = 'text/javascript'; ga.async = true; ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js'; var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s); })(); Skip to main content Preprints Collections Wiley Open Research IET Open Research Ecological Society of Japan All Collections About About Authorea FAQs Contact Us Quick Search anywhere Search for preprint articles, keywords, etc. Search Search ADVANCED SEARCH SCROLL This is a preprint and has not been peer reviewed. Data may be preliminary. 12 December 2025 V1 Latest version Share on The concept of soil depletion factor revisited and applied to determine the crop-specific fraction of total available water Authors : Thiago Duarte 0000-0002-8471-104X , Xue-Jun Dong 0000-0003-3072-1901 [email protected] , Subas Malla , Uzair Ahmad 0000-0002-7384-9449 , José Campelo Júnior , Tonny da Silva , and Edna Maria Bonfim-Silva Authors Info & Affiliations https://doi.org/10.22541/au.176557238.82935588/v1 240 views 201 downloads Contents Abstract Supplementary Material Information & Authors Metrics & Citations View Options References Figures Tables Media Share Abstract Limited availability of irrigation water, coupled with irregular rainfall, is driving the search for better water-saving strategies. One strategy is to select more efficient crop varieties that can maintain profitable yields without requiring large amounts of water. In this study, we developed a new approach to determine the soil depletion factor (p) by considering maximum root zone water extraction. The model of Rijtema and Aboukled was modified to account for different initial soil water contents. Three onion varieties with distinct bulb characteristics, ‘Hornet’ (yellow), ‘Mata Hari’ (red) and ‘Amadea’ (white), were evaluated in a field experiment with drip irrigation, in which the plants were subjected to five stress levels measured at 0.20 m: –25, –50, –75, –100 and –125 kPa. The results showed that the estimated p for the three varieties was higher than the reference values proposed by the FAO (p of 0.30 – 0.35 for a crop evapotranspiration of 5.0 mm d-1). Amadea exhibited the highest p values, with an average of 0.58. Mata Hari presented intermediate values and Hornet the lowest, although their average p values (0.48 and 0.39, respectively) were statistically similar. Additionally, Amadea extracted more water than the two other varieties across all analyzed periods, particularly during the final crop stage. It also appeared to be more drought tolerant. Further study focusing on estimating p across different phenological stages is necessary. We conclude that the proposed approach offers an alternative method for estimating the depletion factor and it can be extended to other crops. Supplementary Material File (maindocument_sssaj.docx) Download 3.10 MB Information & Authors Information Version history V1 Version 1 12 December 2025 Copyright This work is licensed under a Non Exclusive No Reuse License. Keywords environmental sciences evapotranspiration readily available water water availability water extraction water stress Authors Affiliations Thiago Duarte 0000-0002-8471-104X Federal University of Rondonopolis View all articles by this author Xue-Jun Dong 0000-0003-3072-1901 [email protected] Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center, Uvalde, TX 78801 USA View all articles by this author Subas Malla Texas A&M AgriLife Uvalde Research and Extension Center View all articles by this author Uzair Ahmad 0000-0002-7384-9449 Texas A&M AgriLife Uvalde Research and Extension Center View all articles by this author José Campelo Júnior Federal University of Mato Grosso View all articles by this author Tonny da Silva Federal University of Rondonopolis View all articles by this author Edna Maria Bonfim-Silva Federal University of Rondonopolis View all articles by this author Metrics & Citations Metrics Article Usage 240 views 201 downloads .FvxKWukQNSOunydq8rnd { width: 100px; } Citations Download citation Thiago Duarte, Xue-Jun Dong, Subas Malla, et al. The concept of soil depletion factor revisited and applied to determine the crop-specific fraction of total available water. Authorea . 12 December 2025. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22541/au.176557238.82935588/v1 If you have the appropriate software installed, you can download article citation data to the citation manager of your choice. Simply select your manager software from the list below and click Download. For more information or tips please see 'Downloading to a citation manager' in the Help menu . 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