Evaluation of the Simulation Model WinISAREG for Soybean on the West Coast of Uruguay

Abstract

This study was aimed to calibrate and validate the WinIsareg model for soybeans in the west area of Uruguay. This model estimating the crop water requirements under different moisture conditions by simulating a soil water balance (BH). The soilsclimate- crop information was obtained during the 2011 and 2013 seasons. The assessment consisted in searching the cultivation coefficients (Kc) and the no-stress available water depletion factors («p») relative to the initial, mid and end season crop development stages in order to minimize the differences between the observed soil water content values. The best adjusted Kc values were 0.35, 1.18 and 0.75 for initial, mid and end season, respectively. The adjusted “p” value was 0.4 in germination and in R1-R6 phases, while it was 0.6 for the rest of the cycle. The Kc and «p» obtained allowed achieving a high concordance between the simulated and observed values of the water content of the soil for calibration and validation with different situations of water availability. The regression coefficient (b) was very close to 1. The mean absolute error and root mean square error were less than 5 %, the Willmott coefficient and the efficiency (EF) were also close to 1, while the determination coefficient (R2) was higher than 0.8. These results allow to affirm with certainty the proper simulation of WinIsareg model in soybeans in the west area of the country.