Field Evaluation of the Accuracy of the Web-Based Simulation Models CropWaterUse and IrrigationMonitor

Computer-assisted decision support systems can be useful tools in agricultural research and commercial crop management as they can help dealing with environmental variability and the complex nature of soil-crop-pest-environment interactions. CropWaterUse and IrrigationMonitor are online tools included in the Crop-Weather Program, a Web-based decision support system developed for cotton growers farming in South Texas (http://cwp.tamu.edu). CropWaterUse and its derivative IrrigationMonitor were developed using a mechanistic modeling approach to simulate the progression of canopy development (height, leaf area index, and ground cover), crop water use (actual soil evaporation and canopy transpiration), soil moisture storage throughout the soil profile, relative plant-available soil water content and cumulative soil water deficit at root depth. These tools were designed to support irrigation management decisions in cotton crops. A field study was conducted at the Texas AgriLife Research and Extension Center in Corpus Christi to test the accuracy of CropWaterUse and IrrigationMonitor by comparing plant growth and soil moisture simulated values to field observations collected in irrigated cotton plots at weekly intervals throughout the growing season. Results from this study are discussed in this presentation.