This event is designed to enhance your skills and build capacity in using dynamic computer models for the simulation of crop growth, development and yield in general but with emphasis on areas affected by drought and salinity.

The webinar is the tenth  in a series of webinars organized by the International Network of Salt-Affected Soils (INSAS) of the Global Soil Partnership, an initiative which is aimed at raising awareness on sustainable management of salt-affected soils for food security, agricultural sustainability, environmental protection, and climate change mitigation.

AGENDA

16:00-16:10 Introduction | Jorge Batlle-Sales, Chair, International Network of Salt-Affected Soils

16:10-16:50 DSSAT:  theoretical introduction to the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer | Prof. Dr. Gerrit Hoogenboom, Preeminent Scholar & Professor, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA

16:50-17:10 DSSAT: practical application of the DSSAT tool | Dr. Vakhtang Shelia, Research Assistant Scientist, Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department, University of Florida, USA

17:10-17:25 Questions and answers | moderated by  Maria Konyushkova, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

17:25-17:30 Concluding remarks | Jorge Batlle-Sales, Chair, International Network of Salt-Affected Soils

Speakers

Prof. Dr. Gerrit Hoogenboom, Preeminent Scholar & Professor, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA. Dr. Gerrit Hoogenboom is a Preeminent Scholar in the Global Food Systems Institute and Professor of Agricultural and Biological Engineering at the University of Florida, USA. From 2010 through 2015 he was the Director of AgWeatherNet Program and Professor of Agrometeorology at Washington State University. Prior to 2010, he was a Professor and Coordinator of Research, Extension and Instruction in the Department of Biological and Agricultural Engineering at the University of Georgia. He has specialized in the development and application of crop simulation models and decision support systems and he currently coordinates the Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer (DSSAT; www.dssat.net), one of the popular crop modeling systems across the world. He frequently facilitates international training workshops on crop modeling and decision support systems.

Dr. Vakhtang Shelia, Research Assistant Scientist, Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department, University of Florida, USA. Dr. Vakhtang Shelia is a Research Assistant Scientist in the Agricultural and Biological Engineering Department at the University of Florida (UF).  His research primarily focuses on simulating agricultural systems, applying mathematical methods, and utilizing Information Technology (IT) in agriculture and agrometeorology. He has participated in several international projects in Africa and South Asia. Since 2012, he has been actively involved in the development of DSSAT (Decision Support System for Agrotechnology Transfer).  He also leads the development of the CCAFS Regional Agricultural Yield Forecasting Toolbox (CRAFT). Dr. Shelia’s research is dedicated to crop modeling, spatial simulations, forecasting, and associated decision support systems.