Growing Degree Days to Forecast Crop Stages

Plant development depends on temperature. Plants require a specific amount of heat to develop from one point in their life-cycle to another. The ability to predict a specific crop stage, relative to insect and weed cycles, permits better management. This is especially important when three or more crops are being grown on the same farm, each with a different management schedule for pesticide application, fertility management and harvest. The chapter introduces the concept of growing degree days, and other thermal indices used to study and monitor plant growth.