Improvement of pearl millet module in APSIM. Characterization of the main water stress patterns within pearl millet production agroecologies in A1, A, B zone (focus on A1&A)

Abstract

Since tillering is one of the key environmental adaptive mechanism of sorghum&pearl millet (e.g. vanOosterom et al 1998, Jordan et al 2003, Borrell et al 2015), availability of a dynamic tillering module is a crucial feature vastly improving mechanistics of sorghum and pearl millet crop predictions and so the overall value of such modelling tool. Also, because pearl millet crop is very similar to sorghum, the pearl millet module is currently being incorporated into the sorghum/maize modelling framework. Recently, we received the improved code enabling simulation of tillering dynamics for sorghum and millet which will allow, for the first time, reliable comparison of pearl millet and sorghum (maize) using the up-to-date research from the same modelling platform and so improve the APSIM model value as a decision making support in breeding program around the globe. Currently, the new codes are being evaluated against the available datasets at ICRISAT and Prof. Hammer has agreed to draft the MS on this pioneering work. Once the modules are evaluated, the pearl millet characterization of the target agro-ecologies can begin.