Abstract
The existence of multiple objectives in agriculture is a rule, rather than an exception. The issue of economic profitability is a part of the overall concern for agricultural sustainability.
The objective of this paper is to present the analytical structure, validation results, and applications of SIMOPT2: Maize, a simulation-multicriteria optimization software designed to optimize two conflicting objective functions simultaneously.
SIMOPT2:Maize is a coupling of the CERES-Maize model and the Pareto optimization algorithm. It is a tool to help identify a non-inferior fertilizer nitrogen application schedule in maize production, such that profit is maximized and nitrate leaching is minimized, subject to constraints in physical and biological resources and the natural environment.
Effects of weather factors, soil properties, genetic properties, and cultural management practices are simulated through the CERES-Maize model. Yield and amount of nitrate leaching are output of the simulation. Yield is converted into revenue and profit is calculated. Optimization is conducted to find the best trade-off fertilizer N application schedule with respect to profit and nitrate leaching.
The use of SIMOPT2:Maize has demonstrated that a set of feasible, efficient fertilizer N application schedules, which is an optimal compromise between maximum profit and minimum nitrate leaching, can be identified.
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© 1993 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
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Alocilja, E.C., Ritchie, J.T. (1993). Multicriteria optimization for a sustainable agriculture. In: de Vries, F.P., Teng, P., Metselaar, K. (eds) Systems approaches for agricultural development. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-2842-1_23
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-011-2842-1_23
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-0-7923-1881-1
Online ISBN: 978-94-011-2842-1
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