Envirotyping: characterizing crop growing environment using soil, weather and management data

Crop genotypes interact with their environment, which is influenced by soil type and weather, and are affected by the management systems used for their cultivation. To understand why a crop has performed in a particular way and to allow comparison of this performance across multiple locations, it is necessary to characterize the growing environment. Envirotyping can show how environmental factors affect plant growth and development. Recording weather conditions, soil parameters and management practices is crucial to accurately characterise the crop growing environment. This information can further be used in crop models to estimate aspects of crop performance that are more difficult to measure, such as crop water use (IRRIGUIDE, ADAS) and nitrogen uptake (CHN, ARVALIS).