The global shortage of fresh water in arid/semi‐arid regions has inevitably led to the use of unconventional sources of water. One of the strategies for managing saline water consumption is by using simulator models that can help in understanding the physiological response of crops. In this study the number of germinated seeds, shoot fresh weight and plant leaf area index as three of the main parameters of the vegetative stage of maize plants were investigated. In order to quantify the effect of different salinities on vegetative growth parameters, the macroscopic models of Homaee et al., Dirksen et al., van Genuchten and Hoffman and Maas and Hoffman were tested. The fitting of different models to measured data of germinated seeds showed that the Maas and Hoffman model was superior over the other three models with r and NSE values of 0.87 and 0.79, respectively. Similarly, the model of Homaee et al. with the values of r = 0.98 and NSE = 0.89 was the best model for the maize fresh weight variable. Finally, for the leaf area index variable, the van Genuchten and Hoffman model having values of r = 0.95 and NSE = 0.91 was able to provide a better estimate than the other models.

中文翻译：

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评估盐胁迫下玉米植物（ZEA mays L.）的四种不同的宏观吸水模型*

干旱/半干旱地区全球淡水短缺不可避免地导致使用非常规水源。管理盐水消耗的策略之一是使用模拟器模型，该模型可以帮助理解作物的生理反应。本研究以发芽种子数量，枝条鲜重和植物叶面积指数作为玉米营养生长阶段的三个主要参数进行了研究。为了量化不同盐度对营养生长参数的影响，Homaee等人，Dirksen等人的宏观模型，van Genuchten和Hoffman以及Maas和Hoffman进行了测试。不同模型对发芽种子实测数据的拟合表明，Maas和Hoffman模型优于其他三个模型，r和NSE值分别为0.87和0.79。同样，Homaee等人的模型。用的值[R = 0.98和NSE = 0.89是为玉米鲜重变量的最佳模式。最后，对于叶面积指数变量，值r = 0.95和NSE = 0.91的van Genuchten和Hoffman模型能够提供比其他模型更好的估计。