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Tropical Tree Crop Simulation with a Process-Based, Daily Timestep Simulation Model (ALMANAC): Description of Model Adaptation and Examples with Coffee and Cocoa Simulations

Journal Article · · Agronomy (Online)
 [1];  [2];  [3];  [4];  [1];  [5];  [5];  [6];  [7]
  1. US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA), Temple, TX (United States). Agricultural Research Service (ARS), Grassland Soil and Water Research Lab.
  2. Agronomic Institute of Pernambuco (IPA), Recife, PE (Brazil)
  3. Texas A & M Univ., College Station, TX (United States)
  4. Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), Temple, TX (United States)
  5. Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Temple, TX (United States). Blackland Research and Extension Center
  6. Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones Forestales, Agricolas y Pecuarias (INIFAP), Aguascalientes (Mexico)
  7. United States Geological Survey (USGS), Hilo, HI (United States). Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center (PICASC)
+ Show Author Affiliations
Coffee (Coffea species) and Cocoa (Theobroma cacao) are important cash crops grown in the tropics but traded globally. This study was conducted to apply the ALMANAC model to these crops for the first time, and to test its ability to simulate them under agroforestry management schemes and varying precipitation amounts. To create this simulation, coffee was grown on a site in Kaua’i, Hawai’i, USA, and cocoa was grown on a site in Sefwi Bekwai, Ghana. A stand-in for a tropical overstory tree was created for agroforestry simulations using altered parameters for carob, a common taller tropical tree for these regions. For both crops, ALMANAC was able to realistically simulate yields when compared to the collected total yield data. On Kaua’i, the mean simulated yield was 2% different from the mean measured yield, and in all three years, the simulated values were within 10% of the measured values. For cocoa, the mean simulated yield was 3% different from the mean measured yield and the simulated yield was within 10% of measured yields for all four available years. When precipitation patterns were altered, in Ghana, the wetter site showed lower percent changes in yield than the drier site in Hawai’i. When agroforestry-style management was simulated, a low Leaf Area Index (LAI) of the overstory showed positive or no effect on yields, but when LAI climbed too high, the simulation was able to show the detrimental effect this competition had on crop yields. These simulation results are supported by other literature documenting the effects of agroforestry on tropical crops. This research has applied ALMANAC to new crops and demonstrated its simulation of different management and environmental conditions. The results show promise for ALMANAC’s applicability to these scenarios as well as its potential to be further tested and utilized in new circumstances.
Research Organization:
Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE), Oak Ridge, TN (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
US Dept. of Agriculture (USDA); USDOE Office of Science (SC)
Grant/Contract Number:
SC0014664
OSTI ID:
2425833
Journal Information:
Agronomy (Online), Journal Name: Agronomy (Online) Journal Issue: 2 Vol. 13; ISSN 2073-4395
Publisher:
MDPICopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English

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Related Subjects

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES
ALMANC
Agriculture
Agroforestry
Cocoa
Coffee
Ghana
Hawai'i
Plant sciences
Simulation model
Tropical agriculture