The Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) is a set of computer programs for simulating agricultural crop growth.[1] It has been used in over 100 countries by agronomists for evaluating farming methods.[2][3] One application has been assessing the possible impacts on agriculture of climate change and testing adaptation methods.[4]

DSSAT is built with a modular approach, with different options available to represent such processes as evapotranspiration and soil organic matter accumulation, which facilitates testing different representations of processes important in crop growth.[5][6][7] The functionality of DSSAT has also been extended through interfaces with other software such as GIS.[2][8] DSSAT typically requires input parameters related to soil condition, weather, any management practices such as fertilizer use and irrigation, and characteristics of the crop variety being grown.[9] Many common crops have their characteristics already implemented as DSSAT modules.[1]

DSSAT grew out of the International Benchmark Sites Network for Agrotechnological Transfer (IBSNAT) in the 1980s, with the first official release in 1989.[1] Version 4, released in 2003, introduced a more modular structure and added tools for agricultural economic analysis and risk assessment.[1] Development has continued in affiliation with the International Consortium for Agricultural Systems Applications (ICASA).[10]

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  1. ^ a b c d Jones, J. W.; Hoogenboom, G.; Porter, C. H.; Boote, K. J.; Batchelor, W. D.; Hunt, L. A.; Wilkens, P. W.; Singh, U.; Gijsman, A. J.; Ritchie, J. T. (2003). "The DSSAT cropping system model". European Journal of Agronomy. 18 (3–4): 235. doi:10.1016/S1161-0301(02)00107-7.
  2. ^ a b Thorp, Kelly R.; Dejonge, Kendall C.; Kaleita, Amy L.; Batchelor, William D.; Paz, Joel O. (2008). "Methodology for the use of DSSAT models for precision agriculture decision support". Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. 64 (2): 276. doi:10.1016/j.compag.2008.05.022.[permanent dead link]
  3. ^ Baselala, Elenoa (July 5, 2012). "Agro tech". Fiji Times. Archived from the original on February 1, 2014. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  4. ^ "Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT) developed under the International Consortium for Agricultural Systems Applications (ICASA)". Compendium on methods and tools to evaluate impacts of, and vulnerability and adaptation to, climate change. UNFCCC Nairobi Work Programme on impacts, vulnerability and adaptation to climate change. Retrieved January 23, 2014.
  5. ^ Gijsman, A.J; Jagtap, S.S; Jones, J.W (2002). "Wading through a swamp of complete confusion: How to choose a method for estimating soil water retention parameters for crop models". European Journal of Agronomy. 18 (1–2): 77–106. doi:10.1016/S1161-0301(02)00098-9.
  6. ^ Meng, Lei; Quiring, Steven M. (2008). "A Comparison of Soil Moisture Models Using Soil Climate Analysis Network Observations". Journal of Hydrometeorology. 9 (4): 641. doi:10.1175/2008JHM916.1.
  7. ^ Porter, Cheryl H.; Jones, J. W.; Adiku, S.; Gijsman, A. J.; Gargiulo, O.; Naab, J. B. (2009). "Modeling organic carbon and carbon-mediated soil processes in DSSAT v4.5". Operational Research. 10 (3): 247. doi:10.1007/s12351-009-0059-1.
  8. ^ Thorp, K.R.; Bronson, K.F. (2013). "A model-independent open-source geospatial tool for managing point-based environmental model simulations at multiple spatial locations". Environmental Modelling & Software. 50: 25–36. doi:10.1016/j.envsoft.2013.09.002.
  9. ^ Wu, Chunlei; Anlauf, Ruediger; Ma, Youhua (2013). "Application of the DSSAT Model to Simulate Wheat Growth in Eastern China". Journal of Agricultural Science. 5 (5). doi:10.5539/jas.v5n5p198.
  10. ^ White, J. W.; Hunt, L. A.; Boote, K. J.; Jones, J. W.; Koo, J.; Kim, S.; Porter, C. H.; Wilkens, P. W.; Hoogenboom, G. (2013). "Integrated description of agricultural field experiments and production: The ICASA Version 2.0 data standards". Computers and Electronics in Agriculture. 96: 1–12. doi:10.1016/j.compag.2013.04.003.

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