Reducing losses due to crop lodging

This paper describes the preliminary work on a project to develop a model of the lodging of cereal and oil seed rape crops based on a generalised theoretical model embedded within an earth observation framework. The project will involve intensive field tests to observe the behaviour of isolated and interlocked crops in conditions of high wind and heavy rainfall, and to measure a range of crop and soil parameters throughout the growing season to allow the generalised lodging model to be calibrated. In its final form, the modelling framework will allow the risk of lodging for a particular field or region to be assessed both before and during the growing season so that strategic and tactical measures can be taken to reduce this risk.