This system allows user to screen new technology packages, such as a new cultivar or fertilizer management strategy, whithout spending excess time on expensive, time consuming field trials. Sustainable agriculture requires tools that enable decision makers to explore the future.
All crops share a common input-output format, and are similar in level of detail.
They operate on a daily time step, and are based on an understanding of biophysical processes. These models are process oriented, designed to have global applications, and work independent of location, season, crop cultivar, and management system. The models simulate the effects of weather, soil water, genotype, and soil and crop nitrogene dynamics on crop growth and yield. The DBMS provides easy access to four data bases. This data base contains daily weather data from the Minimum Data Set experiments, and allows easy editing, and printing of data.