The use of crop growth simulation models such asthose incorporated into Decision Support Systems for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) are useful tools for assessing the impacts of various management practices on crop productivity. The maize growth model of DSSAT is CERES-maize. To evaluate its predictive capability under western Quebec conditions, data on corn (Zea mays L.) yield and above-ground biomass were collected from a field-scale water table management experiment conducted during the 1996 and 1997 growing seasons at St. Emmanuel, Soulanges County, Quebec. The model was calibrated using various crop growth and development data observed during the 1996 growing season. Cultivar-specific coefficients were determined during the calibration. All measured data on phenology, grain yield and biomass collected in 1997 were used for model validation. / Validation results showed good agreement between predicted and measured yields. In 1996, the Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) was 0.64 and 0.66 Mg/ha for the free drainage plots with 200 kg/ha N (FD200) and 120 kg/ha N (FD120), respectively. In 1997, the RMSE for FD200 and FD120 were 1.07 and 1.23 Mg/ha respectively. However, the model overpredicted the biomass for 1997, and grain number for both FD200 and FD120 treatments in both years. The mean difference (MD) between simulated and observed biomass at maturity was statistically significant at (P < 0.01) for both treatments. Sensitivity analyses showed that the CERES-Maize model was most sensitive to changes in air temperature. The model was also sensitive to soil water and crop genetic parameters.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.21546 |
| Date | January 1998 |
| Creators | Egeh, Mohamud H. |
| Contributors | Madramootoo, C. A. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Agricultural and Biosystems Engineering.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001657833, proquestno: MQ50761, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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