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Cross-continental disease and crop modeling collaborations to beat back wheat blast

Cross-continental collaborations facilitated by the CGIAR Platform for Big Data in Agriculture thrive to beat back the threat of wheat blast in Brazil and Bangladesh.
Wheat blast disease is a major threat to smallholder farmers. The disease was first discovered in Brazil in 1985. Decades later it escaped from South America when it crept its way across the ocean and appeared in Bangladesh in 2016. Wheat blast outbreaks are linked to the right climate conditions. More accurate weather forecasts, coupled with disease models are key for farmers to adapt to the threat of the disease. Effective forecasting and warning systems can also help farmers avoid unnecessary fungicide use, thereby saving them money and reducing environmental risks.

Because the disease is new, knowledge of wheat blast epidemiology and modeling was limited in Bangladesh. That’s why scientists at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT) reached out to Professor Jose Mauricio Fernandes, a Crop Pathologist, and Mr. Felipe de Vargas, a Computer Scientist, within the Universidade de Passo Fundo (UPF) in Brazil… Read more…

GARDIAN and facilitating data interoperability at CGIAR

The CGIAR online search engine, GARDIAN, is easy to navigate and to perform simple queries to locate data and publications; however, there is a challenge to making these data useable on a large scale.

There is a major gap between the potential value of data collected in agricultural experiments and the value currently obtained through the use of those data. Typically, data collected in experiments are used for the original research purpose only, but a much greater value might be obtained if the data could be combined across locations, time, and management conditions.

Combinations of large datasets could enable scientific advances in such areas as genetic modeling, management optimization, and variety selection, and may potentially reduce the need for collection of additional field experimental data. The CGIAR research centers generate large amounts of data, which could gain value through the application of the FAIR (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable) principles, particularly for data which are suitable for quantitative analyses.
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CRAFT: A New Spatial Yield Forecasting Tool

The CCAFS Regional Agricultural Forecasting Toolbox (CRAFT) is a software platform designed for yield forecasting at spatial resolutions of either 5 or 30 arc-minutes using an ensemble modeling approach. Currently the DSSAT, APSIM, and SARRA-H crop simulation models have been implemented for nine important food and feed crops using the AgMIP IT tools. CRAFT was an initiative of CCAFS and was developed in partnership with the Asia Risk Center, Washington State University, and the University of Florida.

UF researchers are trying to grow potatoes and pineapples on a computer

January 24, 2018

UF researchers are discovering ways to efficiently use resources to provide for the world’s increasing population by growing digital crops.

UF’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences researchers, with the help of various fundings, have discovered new advances in precision agriculture, an interdisciplinary approach to farming that uses technology to form digital simulations of crop growth, said Gerrit Hoogenboom, professor of agricultural and biological engineering and a researcher on the project.

Hoogenboom said he develops computer models and decision support systems, which allows researchers to digitally test the best ways to grow crops. So instead of doing tests in a field, they can be done on the system.

Globally Recognized UF/IFAS Crop-Model Researcher Wins National Soil Science Award

November 7, 2017

A University of Florida professor has received a top award from the Soil Science Society of America for helping to develop and apply practices that increase crops, income and help the environment. The L.R. Ahuja Ag Systems Modeling Award goes to a soil scientist, agronomist or crop scientist in recognition of distinguished contributions and their demonstrated impact in the past five to seven years.

“It was a great honor to be recognized for my work in crop modeling and decision-support systems,” said Gerrit Hoogenboom, a UF/IFAS professor of agricultural and biological engineering and a preeminent scholar at the UF/IFAS Institute for Sustainable Food Systems.

ICASA Data Standards Version 2.0

Researchers increasingly seek to integrate results from multiple experiments. The ICASA V2.0 standards allow flexible description of field experiments. Major categories of data are management, soil, weather and crop responses. The standards may be implemented in diverse digital formats. Planned improvements emphasize data quality and appropriate usage.

Access at ScienceDirect
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Improving Soil Fertility Recommendations in Africa

The new book gives a detailed description of the application of DSSAT in simulating crop and soil processes within various Agro-ecological zones in Africa. The book provides examples of the application of DSSAT models to simulate nitrogen applications, soil and water conservation practices including effects of zai technology, phosphorus and maize productivity, generation of genetic coefficients, long-term soil fertility management technologies in the drylands, microdosing, optimization of nitrogen x germplasms x water, spatial analysis of water and nutrient use efficiencies and, tradeoff analysis.