Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
Potential yield
estimation
Weather: rainfall,
temperature and solar
radiation
Yield gap estimation
Pests: type and population
Yield forecasting
Crop/variety:
physiology, phenology and
morphology
InfoCrop
Optimising
management practices
Agronomic inputs: seeds,
FYM, irrigation,
fertiliser and biopesticides
Impact assessment of
climatic variability and
climate change
Soil: texture, salinity,
sodicity and fertility
Plant type design and
evaluation
FIGURe 3.3
Context diagram of InfoCrop depicting the
input requirement on the left-hand side and its possible
application on the right-hand side.
InfoCrop is a DSS based on crop models that has been devel-
oped by a network of scientists to provide a platform for scien-
tists and extension workers to build their applications around
it and to meet the goals of the stakeholders need for informa-
tion. The model is designed to simulate the effects of weather,
soils, agronomic management, nitrogen, water and major pests
on crop growth and yield, water and nitrogen management and
greenhouse gas emission. InfoCrop is user-friendly, targeted to
increase the applications of crop models in research and devel-
opment and has simple and easily available input requirements.
InfoCrop is developed for 12 crops, including rice and wheat.
Crop models in InfoCrop are sensitive to the environment; for
example, radiation, temperature, rainfall, wind speed, vapour
pressure, flooding, frost; soil (depth of planting/transplanting,
seed rates, amount and time of irrigation and N fertilisation
(including organic) in different soil depths and pests, for exam-
ple, population/severity of pests and their timing of appearance).
3.3
Climate change and crop modelling
Climate change is defined as 'any long-term substantial devia-
tion from the present climate because of variations in weather
and climatic elements'.
