Growers Benefit From Virtual Farming Software

The DSSAT program works for soybeans, peanuts, tomatoes, green beans, peppers, sweet corn, cabbage, rice, wheat, barley, cotton, potato, pasture grasses and numerous other crops. It simulates crop growth, yield and water and nutrient requirements for the crops.

Farmville and Farmtown computer programs let people pretend to be farmers. A program developed by university scientists lets researchers grow virtual crops, too, but in a real effort to advise farmers on how to save money and resources.

The program is called Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer, or DSSAT. It was created by a team of agricultural scientists from the universities of Georgia, Florida, Hawaii, Guelph in Ontario, Canada, Iowa State University and the International Center for Soil Fertility and Agricultural Development.

Researchers use the system to make crucial decisions based on sound science. In Georgia, for example, the Georgia Environmental Protection Division uses it to estimate water requirements for irrigation, said Gerrit Hoogenboom, a UGA agricultural meteorologist who helped develop the software.

To read the rest of the story, please go to: Southeast Farm Press.