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- The name of the water user
- The details on the evaporation time series for this node.
- The summer start date; the planting date of the first crop for the summer season.
- The winter start date; the planting date of the first crop for the winter season.
- The seasonal break up. If there is only one season this will be indicated here.
It also gives the option to Autogenerate (see later section)
Purple (2nd from top)
The details on each crop.
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- Click on the planting decision for that crop
- Create a modelled variable
- Click on “+”
- Select Modelled Variable
- Node > Water User > (name of your water user) > Demand Model > Crops > (name of your primary crop) > Area
- It is recommended you give the variable a meaningful name like wateruser3_rice_area
- Create a function
- Click on “+”
- Select Function
- Multiply the modelled variable by the relative proportion compared to the primary crop. (Divide by the primary proportion to get crop mix area, multiply by the proportion of the current crop)
- A simple example might be $wateruser3_rice_area*(60/40)
- It is recommended you give the function a meaningful name
- Select function
- Right click on the function created and select “Select and Lock Usage”
Autogeneration of parameters
It is possible to Autogenerate the seasonal information from the Crop Table Plugin Dialog.
This runs a simulation of the crop over the evaporation period, with an assumed rainfall of zero, and perfect watering for a single 'unit' area. It then stores this required usage.
To do this you must have
- Correct crops, including planting dates (the table provides a summary of what has been entered in Source).
- Correct seasonal dates (Chosen by the user)
- An evaporation time series that is from a Data Source (this will be auto-detected and present in the dialog)
Once these are correct, click on "Autogenerate".
You will be asked to choose a fallow soil depletion. This is required because over a long period with evaporation but no rainfall the 'Fallow' area of the irrigator will become completely depleted of water. At planting time the crop will be assumed to have the fallow soil depletion. This option overrides this normal behaviour.
You will then be given the option to save the results of the crop simulation to file. Once saved to file it is possible to see exactly how the simulation progressed.
Troubleshooting
If your primary crop dies before your secondary crops are planted, then the planting function will be incorrect. It is possible to set a function to look “backwards” at what the area was on a given date.
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