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APSIM kale appropriately simulates spring and autumn grown forage kale crops in Tasmania
Citation
Pembleton, KG and Harrison, MT and Rawnsley, RP and Zykowski, R and Chakwizira, E and de Ruiter, J and Johnstone, PR, APSIM kale appropriately simulates spring and autumn grown forage kale crops in Tasmania, Proceedings of the 17th Australian Agronomy Conference 2015, 20-24 September 2015, Hobart, Australia, pp. 1-4. (2015) [Refereed Conference Paper]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2015 the author
Official URL: http://www.agronomyaustralia.org/
Abstract
Kale (Brassica oleracea var. acephala) is an important winter feed on many dairy farms in the temperate regions of Australia and New Zealand. A key challenge in lifting farm productivity and profitability is understanding the effects of biophysical factors on growth and development of this crop. Biophysical models help in this regard, and can be used to test new production practices, or identify efficiencies that can be gained over current agronomic practices. The objective of this study was to determine if the APSIM kale module appropriately simulated the growth and development of forage kale crops in Tasmania. The results of simulations using site-specific soil and climate data and crop management were compared with data collected from field experiments and commercial kale crops. Comparison of the modelled growth and leaf development to observations in the field showed the model appropriately represented both biomass accumulation and phenological development. Relationship between modelled and observed biomass (n = 35) explained 86% of the variation with a mean bias of -37kg DM/ha over the life of the crop. Relationship between modelled and observed number of leaves (n = 16) explained 93% of the variation with a mean bias of 0.4 leaves over the life of the crop. The APSIM kale module includes predictions of soil water and nitrogen use and once verified will allow more precise management scenarios to be tested and implemented for optimising productivity while minimising the environmental impact of dairy winter forage systems.
Item Details
| Item Type: | Refereed Conference Paper |
|---|---|
| Keywords: | APSIM, model, kale, validation, calibration, Tasmania, New Zealand, soil |
| Research Division: | Agricultural, Veterinary and Food Sciences |
| Research Group: | Agriculture, land and farm management |
| Research Field: | Agricultural production systems simulation |
| Objective Division: | Animal Production and Animal Primary Products |
| Objective Group: | Pasture, browse and fodder crops |
| Objective Field: | Browse crops |
| UTAS Author: | Pembleton, KG (Dr Keith Pembleton) |
| UTAS Author: | Harrison, MT (Associate Professor Matthew Harrison) |
| UTAS Author: | Rawnsley, RP (Dr Richard Rawnsley) |
| ID Code: | 102487 |
| Year Published: | 2015 |
| Deposited By: | Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture |
| Deposited On: | 2015-08-25 |
| Last Modified: | 2016-05-09 |
| Downloads: | 527 View Download Statistics |
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