The performance of the CROPGRO-Drybeans model for the prediction of soil water balance, as well as growth components and bean crop yield, was assessed using data from two field experiments conducted at the State University of Maringá Irrigation Technical Center, Paraná - Brazil, (latitude 23º27'S, longitude 51º57' and altitude 542 m), during the 2005 and 2006 growing season. The model simulations correlated well with measured soil moisture (r > 0.7) for both experiments. However, there were high discrepancies between measured and simulated soil moisture values on the days after rainfall. In addition, it was found that the model exaggerates the effect of water stress during the flowering phase, which leds to underprediction (19 and 29%) of crop yield.
Water stress; soil moisture; simulation
