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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #193809
Title: APPLICATION OF GOSSYM FOR WATER MANAGEMENT IN COTTON PRODUCTION SYSTEMS

Author
item Kim, Soo Hyung
item YANG, YANG - UNIV OF MD, WYE RIVER
item Timlin, Dennis
item REDDY, K - MISS STATE UNIV
item Fleisher, David
item Reddy, Vangimalla

Submitted to: Meeting Abstract
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/11/2006
Publication Date: 4/11/2006
Citation: Kim, S., Yang, Y., Timlin, D.J., Reddy, K.R., Fleisher, D.H., Reddy, V. 2006. Application of GOSSYM for water management in cotton production systems [abstract]. Biological Systems Simulation Conference. p.39.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: Simulation models can be an effective means for resource optimization in crop production systems. A dynamic, process-based simulation model for cotton, GOSSYM, has been used in commercial agriculture as well as in research as an aid for making cropping decisions, optimizing resource management, and producing viable policy decisions (e.g., Reddy et al., 1987; Reddy et al., 1997; Staggenborg et al., 1996). Water is a key limiting factor in many of the cotton production systems around the world. The objective of the study was to utilize GOSSYM to develop water management strategies that can improve water use efficiency of the cotton production systems. Environmental, cultural, and experimental data of cotton trials in California and Texas were obtained from the ARS cotton database located at the website of Crop Systems and Global Change Laboratory, USDA-ARS (http://www.ars.usda.gov/services/docs.htm?docid=6442). These data sets were used to run the latest version of GOSSYM interfaced with the GUICS (Acock et al., 1999). First, simulations were performed using the environmental and cultural information without any modifications in order to test the ability of the model to predict growth, development, and yield of cotton in comparison with the experimental observations. In general, model behavior agreed reasonably well with the observations. Among all data sets tested, only those data sets in which model predictions showed closest agreement against the observations were then chosen for further investigations to examine the model sensitivity in response to changes in irrigation regimes. From these simulations, critical and non-critical irrigation timings were identified, and crop water use efficiency was calculated. GOSSYM appeared to be a useful tool for testing viable water management regimes of cotton production systems without extensive investments in time and resources for experimental investigations. Strengths and short-comings of applying GOSSYM for water management in dryland cotton production systems are discussed.