Updated fruits and vegetable parameters for swat models

Ensuring accurate crop yield simulations in ecohydrological models such as the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) is crucial to improve our understanding of agricultural systems and productivity. This, in turn, can facilitate the development of more sustainable agricultural practices. In this study, we focused on validating the crop growth parameters of the SWAT model for 24 table food fruits and vegetables in Iowa, located in the western Corn Belt region of the United States.

To estimate these parameters, we used five primary sources: a) existing parameters in the SWAT crop parameter database, b) alternative parameters in the Environmental Policy Integrated Climate (EPIC) and Agricultural Policy/Environmental eXtender (APEX) crop parameter databases, c) literature, d) PHU fraction for scheduling dates, and e) expert communication among modeling team members. Among the 24 crops tested, 15 initial parameter data sets were already available in the SWAT database, and the remaining crop types were added to this plant.dat file.