23rd -28th August 2004
African Network for Soil Biology and Fertility
(AfNet)
of the Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility (TSBF)
Institute of CIAT and Project 5 of the Challenge Program
on Water and Food- Volta Basin coordinated by ICRISAT
and
the International Consortium for Agricultural Systems Applications
(ICASA)
Rationale
Today more than ever, increased food production depends on
judicious use of resources. In addition, issues such as climate
change, climate variability, soil carbon sequestration and
the long-term impact on food security and environmental sustainability,
have become important. Many weather, soil, genetic and management
factors affect the way a crop will respond to irrigation,
fertilizer and other management practices. Determining appropriate
crop management strategies under these uncertainties has major
economic and environmental implications. Computer simulation
models of the soil/plant/atmosphere system can make a valuable
contribution to both furthering our understanding of the processes
that determine crop responses and predicting crop performance,
resource use and environmental impacts for different environments
and management scenarios. User-oriented simulation models
greatly facilitate the task of optimizing crop growth and
deriving recommendations concerning crop management. They
can also be used to determine the potential impact of climate
change on crop production and long-term soil carbon sequestration,
or provide management scenarios for adapting to climate variability.
Program Goal and Objectives
The overall goal of this training program is to familiarize
participants with a comprehensive computer model for the simulation
of crop growth and yield, soil and plant water, nutrient and
carbon dynamics and their application to real world problems.
Specifically the program will focus on:
- Operation of the new windows-based Decision Support System
for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) Version 4 software (www.ICASA.net/DSSAT/)
- Description of the new DSSAT-Cropping System Model, CSM
and its modules, such as CROPGRO, and CERES, and the science
embedded in the models.
- Minimum data requirements and experimental data collection
for systems simulation.
- Integration of crop simulation models with data base
management
- Application of the new DSSAT-CSM model to improve management
of cropping systems.
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHTS
The program will:
- Describe a practical approach for simulating effects of
soil, weather, management, and pest factors on crop production.
- Demonstrate how processes of crop growth and development,
water use, uptake of water and nutrients and carbon dynamics
can be simulated.
- Make extensive use of 'hands on' sessions that apply the
new DSSAT-CSM model to cropping systems in various regions
of the world.
- Describe procedures for collecting and managing crop,
weather and soil data for model evaluation.
- Give participants the opportunity to work with their own
data and determine the accuracy of the models for application
to specific problems.
- Analyze management alternatives for single seasons or
over long-term crop rotations.
- Assess economic risks and environmental impacts associated
with agricultural production.
Cropping System Model & DSSAT
The program will make extensive use of the DSSAT-Cropping
System Model (CSM). CSM is a new, general cropping system
model for simulating crop growth and development and soil
and plant water, nitrogen and carbon dynamics. CSM is comprised
of the CROPGRO module for soybean, peanut, common bean, chickpea,
faba bean, cowpea, and other grain legumes, the CERES module
for maize, sorghum and millet, the CERES-Rice module for rice,
the SUBSTOR module for potato, the CROPSIM-CERES module for
wheat and barley, and the CROPGRO module for tomato, bahia
and brachiaria. The CENTURY model for the simulation of soil
carbon and nitrogen is also included in CSM. DSSAT v4 is windows
based and includes the CSM model as well as tools and utility
programs for managing soil, weather, genetic, crop, economic
and pest data, and application and analysis programs.
About the Workshop
When the Workshop Begins
The program will start on 23rd and end 28th August, 2004.
It will be held in Arusha Tanzania. International participants
should plan to arrive one or two days before the program begins
to adjust to time zone differences and recover from travel
fatigue.
Resource Persons/ Trainers
The following will train in this training program:
Dr. G. Hoogenboom, The University of Georgia
Dr. J.W. Jones, The University of Florida
Contact
Andre Bationo (PHD)
Soil Scientist and AfNet Coordinator
Tropical Soil Biology and Fertility Institute of CIAT (TSBF-CIAT)
C/o ICRAF, Gigiri
P O Box 30677
Nairobi, KENYA.
Email: a.bationo@cgiar.org
Tel: +254 2 524755
International: 1 415 8336645
Fax: +254 2 524763 +254 2 524764
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