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GENCALC: Software to Facilitate the Use of Crop Models for Analyzing Field Experiments
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1993
Year
Precision AgricultureEngineeringCropping SystemAgricultural EconomicsYield PredictionAgricultural StatisticsCrop ModelsSustainable AgricultureBiostatisticsPublic HealthAgricultural ProductivityQuantitative GeneticsAgricultural ResilienceAnalyzing Field ExperimentsCrop EcologyCrop Growth ModelingHard DiskGenetic VariationAgricultural BiotechnologyField CropAgricultural ModelingCrop SciencePopulation DevelopmentCrop ModellingSoftware PackageGenotype Coefficients
Crop simulation models use genotype coefficients to predict the performance of different cultivars under varying soil, weather, and management conditions. The study aims to use these models to decompose genotype × environment interactions into underlying genotype coefficients. GENCALC iteratively estimates genotype coefficients by repeatedly running a crop model, comparing simulated and observed data, and adjusting coefficients—starting with developmental parameters—until convergence, then averages results, selects low‑variability coefficients, and stores them in a crop‑specific database, requiring only 2 MB free disk space and running on IBM DOS 3.0+.
Abstract A number of crop simulation models use as model inputs certain coefficients that account for differences among cultivars. These coefficients, often referred to as genotype coefficients, allow the models to simulate performance of diverse genotypes under different soil, weather, and management conditions. The models therefore can potentially be used to resolve the genotype × environment interaction into underlying coefficients. GENCALC (Genotype Coefficient Calculator) is a software package that facilitates the calculation of these coefficients for use in existing crop models. In GENCALC, the coefficients for a genotype are estimated iteratively by running the appropriate crop model with model input data and approximate coefficients, comparing the model output with actual data, and then altering the coefficients until the simulated and measured values match. The coefficients are determined in a specified sequence, starting with those that relate to developmental aspects. GENCALC also allows for calculation of averages (±SD) for the coefficients determined from specific experiments. This facilitates the selection of coefficients with the lowest variability, which can then be stored in crop‐specific database files. GENCALC comprises several programs and requires additional models and model input files, so a hard disk with =2 Mb free space is required. GENCALC will run on any IBM or IBM‐compatible computer with DOS version 3.0 or later.