Evaluation of WOFOST model for growth and development Simulation of maize (Zea. mays. L) under summer cropping system condition in tropical regions of Jiroft, Iran

Crop models are the major tools which help to understand how the interactions factors including soil, plant and atmosphere affecting plant growth. This study was conducted in order to evaluate WOFOST model for estimate maize (Zeo maize) yield production of summer cropping system of maize in tropical conditions in Jiroft region. Model input data base includes the Climate data (daily parameters of solar radiation, temperature and rainfall), plant data (time of germination, flowering and maturity, grain yield and dry matter) and soil data (physical and chemical properties). Plant variables of model includes of time of phenological stages, dry matter production, yield and biomass which collected from field experiment which performed in different planting dates and genotype. At the next step model was calibrated and evaluated with observed field data. The results showed RMSE, for grain yield, biomass and harvest index were respectively 9.06, 4.24 and 10.11. The model efficiency coefficient (E) for grain yield, biomass and harvest index was respectively 0.99, 0.87, and 0.82. So this results presented high precision of model simulation results. The results of WOFOST evaluation showed that the efficiency of model is good for maize summer cropping system under tropical climatic conditions of Jiroft region.