October 27, 2009
GLYCIM may help boost Thailand's soy production
Soy model GLYCIM could help to improve and maximise soy production in Thailand, according to Agricultural Research Service (ARS).
GLYCIM was designed to simulate the growth of any soy cultivar on any soil at any location and for any time of year.
The ARS research team programmed GLYCIM with data from a field study conducted in Thailand that tracked soy growth and yield. Then the team introduced four years of weather measurements, seven planting dates, three soil types, three soy cultivars and other data to develop 504 cultivation and yield scenarios for two key soy production areas in northern Thailand.
The study indicated that losses due to high temperatures at the two Thai locations could be as high as 40 percent. GLYCIM results also indicated that it is critical for farmers to use optimal planting dates to achieve high yields at these sites.
The study further supported GLYCIM's use as a comprehensive mechanistic model for predicting soy growth, development and yield across a range of agricultural systems, ARS said.
Farmers in Thailand and other tropical regions could also use GLYCIM to estimate how different management practices could be adjusted to deal with the effects of global climate change and changing weather patterns.
