Application of DSSAT Crop Simulation Model to Estimate Rice Yield in Keonjhar District of Odisha (India) under Changing Climatic Conditions

Abstract

Changes of climate will be one of the deciding factors that affect for future food production in the world because crop growth is highly sensitive to any changes of climatic conditions. As the rice is staple food of Odisha, it is essential to identify the impacts of climate changes on State’s rice production. This study was conducted to identify the yield and growth changes of the popular rice variety (Swarna) cultivated in Keonjhar district at kharif season. Effects of change in weather conditions on the yields of Swarna variety was assessed through sensitivity analysis using the Ceres rice model v 4.6 of the DSSAT modeling system. The model was validated using rice growth and development data during the 2015 cropping season. To simulate the rice yield DSSAT requires data sets of crop growth and management, daily weather data and soil data. Daily maximum and minimum temperatures and precipitation were collected from the weather station while daily solar radiation was generated using weatherman in the DSSAT shell. Crop management data were obtained from an experiment which was conducted in Keonjhar. The study revealed that increase in both maximum and minimum temperatures affects the grain yield. The results of the study therefore show that weather conditions in Keonjhar affect rice yield and should be taken into consideration to improve food security. Introduction