Water-limited production: crop management

Exercise objective:

·    Understanding effects of crop characteristics and water management on crop performance.

Suggested reading:

The theory of water-limited production as explained in Chapter 4 of the book, ORYZA2000: modelling lowland rice.

This set of exercises deals with the simulation of crop growth and development with a water balance. Crop performance is now not only determined by crop characteristics and the weather variables radiation and temperature, but also by water availability (from rainfall and/or irrigation). It is still assumed that the crop is optimally supplied with nutrients, and that there is no yield reduction caused by weeds, pests or diseases. This mode of simulation can be used to study the effects of water limitations on crop growth, including the effects of rainfall, irrigation management and soil properties.

In the following exercises, we simulate growth and development of rice variety IR72, in the dry season of 1992, using weather data from the IRRI farm in Los Baños, the Philippines. This set of exercises focuses on the crop and the experimental data file, while “Chapter V: Water-limited production; soil properties” focuses on the effects of soil properties and the soil data file.

• Water mode 

Exercise objective:

·    Running ORYZA2000 with a water balance; file control.

Suggested reading:

Chapters 7.1 and 7.3 (the part on water management) of the book, ORYZA2000: modelling lowland rice.

 Click HERE for learning exercises on Water mode.

• Water management 

Exercise objective:

·    Irrigation water management; the experimental data file.

Suggested reading:

Chapter 7.2 (the part on water management) of the book, ORYZA2000: modelling lowland rice.

 Click HERE for learning exercises on Water management.