Optimization-Based Water-Salt Dynamic Threshold Analysis of Cotton Root Zone in Arid Areas

Threshold levels of soil moisture and salinity in the plant root zone can guide crop planting and farming practices by providing a baseline for adjusting irrigation and modifying soil salinity. This study describes a method of soil water and salinity control based on an optimized model for growing cotton in an arid area. Experiments were conducted in Akesu Irrigation District, southern Xinjiang, northwest China, to provide data for cotton yield and soil water content and salinity in the root zone at different growth stages. The sensitivity of cotton to soil water content and salinity was predicted for different growth periods using a modified Jensen model. An optimization model with 480 boundary conditions was created, with the objective of maximizing yield, to obtain the dynamically varying water and salt threshold levels in the root zone for scenarios that included three initial soil moisture content values (<i>W</i>0), eight irrigation quantities (<i>M</i>), five initial soil salt content values (<i>S</i>0), and four irrigation water salinity levels (<i>K</i>). Results showed that the flowering–boll stage is the crucial period for cotton yield, and the threshold levels of soil water content and salinity in the cotton root zone varied with the boundary conditions. The scenario chosen for the research area in this study was W0 = 0.85<i>θ_fc</i> (<i>θ_fc</i> is field capacity), <i>S</i>0 = 4 g kg⁻¹, <i>M</i> = 400 mm, <i>K</i> = 0 g L⁻¹. The predicted threshold levels of soil water for different growth stages (seedling, bud, flowering–boll, and boll-opening) were respectively 0.75–0.85<i>θ_fc</i>, 0.65–0.75<i>θ_fc</i>, 0.56–0.65<i>θ_fc</i>, and 0.45–0.56<i>θ_fc</i>. Corresponding threshold levels of salt were 4–4.16, 4.16–4.39, 4.39–4.64, and 4.64–4.97 g kg⁻¹ when no action was taken to remove salt from the root zone. This study provides an innovation method for the determination of dynamically varying soil water content and salt thresholds.