Abstract:
Identification of onset of wet and dry periods and their maximum
length within seasons has paramount importance in agriculture. The knowledge
on these wet and dry periods helps farmer to adjust the cropping calendar to
obtain maximum yield while managing available water efficiently for the crop
cultivation.
As there is no special software package available to identify above
mentioned valuable parameters, a Decision Support System (DSS) has been
developed using MS Access and VBA (Visual Basic for Application) software
packages. The system is user friendly and the input of the DSS system is
weekly rainfall data.
The system helps to calculate onset of wet and dry periods and their
maximum length at 75% expectancy level using rainfall data in a particular
region. Apart from that the DSS provides details such as length of wet periods,
dry periods, number of dry weeks on the cropping seasons and records on past
rainfall events.
In the system, the user has a facility to input his own criteria to
demarcate wetness and dryness. The developed DSS will help to researchers,
students, farmers and others who need the knowledge on agro-climatology for
their work for decision-making.
Introduction
