UAL Crop Nitrogen and Irrigation Lab

A simple Decision Support System (DSS), based on the VegSyst simulation model is being developed to provide growers with daily amounts of N and irrigation. For N, firstly, VegSyst calculates daily N uptake and then the DSS considers N provided by the soil as mineral N and through mineralization of organic N to calculate the daily amount of fertilizer N required. For irrigation, VegSyst calculates ETc and then the DSS considers nutrient solution EC and the irrigation application uniformity to calculate the daily irrigation volume. A prototype DSS has been developed. In current work, a user-friendly version for use by growers and farm advisors is being developed.