 Figure 1. Generalized tall fescue US adaptation map |
Before current sophisticated computer tools were available for generating maps, most textbooks, seed catalogues, pasture fact sheets, and technical guides included an adaptation zone description or a map that showed general zones where the species being discussed could be grown. Typically, these maps were produced by a graphics artist working with an agronomist or agro-meteorologist and used general agricultural concepts and broad groupings of precipitation and temperature and/or soils (Figure 1).
(Source: Tall Fescue, American Society of Agronomy Monograph No. 20, 1979, p. 15).
However these maps are of minimal value in decision-making at the individual farm level. They are inadequate since the scale is too coarse and they do not give specific locations for successful or optimal yield. Most maps do not reflect all the critical factors that govern plant survival and growth (minimum, maximum, and optimal ranges for precipitation, temperature, photoperiod, soil pH and drainage, elevation, slope, aspect, etc.).
This project has developed a new generation of maps that are more specific, consider more information, and can be adapted to reflect anticipated changes in factors. These will be linked to rules for formulating pasture mixtures to create an interactive decision support tool to identify the best plant material for any given situation.