Increasing the efficiency of agronomy experiments in potato using INFOCROP-POTATO model

Summary This paper reports adaptations of a generic crop model IN FOCROP for potato and its application in increasing the efficiency of agronomic experiments in tropical environments. A dataset of 13 experiments consisting of 153 treatments was assembled from an extensive literature search. These experiments were conducted over the period 1976-1999 in diverse Indian locations from 31 °N 75 ° E to 25 ° N 85 ° E. The treatments varied in locations, seasons, planting dates, water and N management and varieties. The duration to tuber initiation in the dataset varied between 25–63 days after planting and tuber yield between 11.0-45.3 t ha^-1. Simulated trends of phenological development, growth and tuber yield were in close agreement with the measured with acceptable error. It was concluded that the model was adequate to simulate the effect of various crop management factors to obtain quick results and increase the efficiency of agronomic experiments.