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    STUDIA GEOGRAPHIA - Issue no. 2 / 2010  
         
  Article:   ANALYSIS OF GROWING DEGREE DAYS IN THE TRANSYLVANIAN PLAIN, ROMANIA .

Authors:  D. WEINDORF, H. CACOVEAN, T. RUSU.
 
       
         
  Abstract:  Analysis of Growing Degree Days in the Transylvanian Plain. The Transylvanian Plain (TP) is a large and diverse agronomic region located in north central Romania. Historically, planting date for crops has remained relatively constant. However, significant air and soil temperature differences exist across the TP. Growing degree days (GDDs), a measure of accumulated heat needed for plant growth and development, were analyzed at 20 stations located throughout the Transylvanian Plain, Romania. Growing degree days are preferred over maturity ratings, because they can account for temperature anomalies. The crop being considered for this study was corn. The base temperature (BT) was set at 10oC, and the upper threshold was 30oC. Two methods were used to calculate GDDs; 1) minimum and maximum daily temperatures, and 2) 24 h of averaged temperature data. Growing degree days were run from 110-199 day of year (DOY) to represent approximate planting date to tasseling. The DOY that 694 accumulated growing degree days (AGDDs) was reached at each site was then analyzed to identify differences across the TP. Three sites failed to reach 694 AGDDs by DOY 199, and were excluded from comparisons to other results. Averaged values were used to create spline interpolation maps with ArcMap 9.2 (ESRI, Redlands, CA, USA). The southeastern portion of the TP was found to tassel a month earlier assuming a planting date of 109 DOY. Four DeKalb® corn hybrids were then selected based on GDDs to tasseling, drydown, drought tolerance, and insect resistance. With a better understanding of the GDD trends across the TP, more effective planting and harvesting could be accomplished by Romanian farmers to maximize agronomic production.

Keywords: soil temperature, growing degree days, agriculture, HOBO stations, Transylvania Plain. 

 
         
     
         
         
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