Calibração do modelo Manihot-Cassava com variedades de mandioca cultivadas no Recôncavo da Bahia

Abstract

Crop Simulation Models (CSM) developed for cassava, such as the MANIHOT-Cassava, can be applied in agricultural planning, supporting decision- making and contributing to mitigate productivity losses in agrosystems. However, for the CSM to provide information that approximates reality, it is necessary to calibrate the model based on experimental data representing the cultivation conditions of interest. The objective of the present project was to calibrate the MANIHOT-Cassava with information on cassava varieties grown in humid and sub-humid tropical climates, in the Recôncavo of Bahia. The project was divided in two stages: i) varieties characterization in the field; and ii) model calibration and evaluation. The field stage was carried out with four experiments installed in Cruz das Almas-BA, between 2019 and 2020. The experiments provided information related to the development, growth and production of cassava varieties. The practice involving field data collection and its application in the model calibration process was commented. During the calibration process, the model presented high levels of precision and accuracy in the simulations related to the performance of the BRS Novo Horizonte and Eucalipto varieties, except for the leaf area index (LAI). The LAI presented more errors between the simulated and observed results, mainly after 180 DAP. The model also heavily penalized crop performance when water supply was more limited.