Assessment of a crop growth-water balance model for predicting maize growth and yield in a subtropical environment

A combination of a simple and universal crop growth simulator (SUCROS) of v an Keulen et al. [van Keulen, H., Penning de Vries, F.W.T., Drees, E.M., 19 82. A summary model for crop growth. In: Penning de Vries, F.W.T., Laar van , H.H. (Eds.), Simulation of Plant Growth and Crop Production. Simulation M onographs, Pudoc, Wageningen] with a water balance model (WBM) of Arora et al. [Arora, V.K., Prihar, S.S., Gajri, P.R., 1987. Synthesis of a simplifie d water use simulation model for predicting wheat yields. Water Resources R es. 23, 903-910] along with some modifications was assessed for predicting maize growth and yield in variable climatic and water supply regimes. Model assessment showed that simulated biomass and grain yield of maize were clo se to the measured data in medium water-retentive sandy loam; while in low retentive loamy sand, biomass was over-predicted for most of water supply r egimes. Poor performance of the model in the loamy sand appears due to the reason that the maize grown on such soils during hot and monsoonal rainy se ason generally suffers more from soil-related constraints other than water stress. The analysis indicates the adequacy of the combination model in med ium water-retentive soils. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserv ed.