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Crop Intelligence

The Crop Intelligence feature group provides scientifically-grounded crop analysis tools within each field’s detail page. Using NASA POWER daily climate data combined with FAO agronomic models, it calculates water balance and estimates yield potential for every field on your farm.

Water Balance

Daily crop water demand vs. supply using the FAO Penman-Monteith methodology.

Yield Potential

Yield estimation using 3 FAO methods of increasing complexity and accuracy.

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Accessing Crop Intelligence

  1. Navigate to a field detail page (click any field from the Fields list or map)
  2. In the left sidebar, expand the Crop Intelligence group
  3. Select Water Balance or Yield Potential
Crop Intelligence requires that the field has an assigned crop type with a sow date. The crop type provides essential agronomic parameters (Kc, Ky, WP*, HI) that drive the calculations.

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Water Balance

The Water Balance tab calculates and visualizes daily crop water demand versus supply, helping you understand whether your crops are receiving adequate moisture and where stress periods occur.

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Methodology

The calculations follow the FAO-56 Penman-Monteith standard:
VariableFormulaDescription
ET₀FAO-56 Penman-Monteith equationReference evapotranspiration — how much water a standard grass surface would lose
ETcKc × ET₀Crop evapotranspiration — how much water your specific crop demands
ETaKs × ETcActual evapotranspiration — how much water the crop actually transpires given soil moisture constraints
Ksmin(1.0, gwetroot / 0.6)Water stress coefficient — drops below 1.0 when soil moisture is insufficient

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Understanding the Key Terms

The ratio of your crop’s water demand to the grass reference. It varies by growth stage: low during establishment (~0.3), peaks at mid-season (~1.15), and declines during senescence (~0.4). Kc values are derived from your crop type’s parameters and the current phenological stage.
When soil moisture is adequate, Ks = 1.0 and the crop transpires freely. When soil dries below the threshold (root-zone wetness < 60%), Ks drops proportionally, reducing actual ET. Days where Ks < 1.0 are counted as stress days.
The cumulative difference between what the crop demands (ETc) and what it receives (precipitation). Deficits exceeding 30 mm typically indicate irrigation is needed.

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Dashboard Summary

The top of the Water Balance tab shows summary cards for the selected time range:
  • Total ET₀ — Reference evapotranspiration total
  • Total ETc — Crop water demand total
  • Total ETa — Actual water use total
  • Total Precipitation — Rainfall received
  • Water Deficit — Cumulative shortfall
  • Stress Days — Number of days where Ks < 1.0

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Charts & Visualizations

A combined chart with dual Y-axes — ET₀, ETc, and ETa as lines on the left axis, and daily precipitation as bars on the right axis. Gaps between ETc and ETa reveal stress periods.
Running surplus or deficit since sowing, displayed as an area chart. Green above zero (surplus), red below zero (deficit). Helps you visualize drought accumulation over the season.
Combined chart showing the Ks stress factor and root-zone soil moisture over time. When Ks drops below 1.0, the crop is water-stressed.

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Time Range Selector

Filter the view to specific periods: 30 days, 60 days, 90 days, or the full season.

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Export

Click the CSV export button to download raw daily water balance data for further analysis in spreadsheets or GIS tools.
Compare the Water Balance tab with the Weather and Precipitation tabs for a complete picture. Water Balance uses NASA POWER data at 0.5° resolution (good for trends), while Weather uses Agromonitoring data at 3-hourly resolution (better for recent conditions).

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Yield Potential

The Yield Potential tab estimates your crop’s expected yield using 3 FAO-based methods of increasing complexity. Each method provides a Ya/Ym ratio — the fraction of maximum achievable yield your crop is expected to reach given water availability.

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The Three Methods

The simplest approach — one equation relating overall water deficit to yield reduction.Formula:
Ya/Ym = 1 − Ky × (1 − ETa/ETc)
ParameterDescription
Ya/YmActual yield as a fraction of maximum yield
KyYield response factor (crop-specific, from crop type database)
ETa/ETcRatio of actual to required evapotranspiration
Accuracy: 60–70%Best for: Quick estimates, limited data situations.

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Yield Gauge

The main visualization is a radial gauge showing the Ya/Ym ratio for the selected method:
  • ≥ 90% (Green) — Excellent — crop is near its maximum potential
  • 75–90% (Amber) — Good — moderate yield reduction from water stress
  • 50–75% (Orange) — Fair — significant water limitation
  • < 50% (Red) — Poor — severe water deficit impacting yield

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Stage-Specific Yield Loss

Each method breaks down yield loss by phenological stage, showing which growth period contributed most to total yield reduction:
StageCodeWhy It Matters
VegetativeVCanopy establishment — moderate sensitivity
FloweringFPollination — the most yield-sensitive stage
Yield FormationYGrain filling — high sensitivity
RipeningRMaturation — lowest sensitivity
Water stress during Flowering has the largest impact on final yield. If the stage breakdown shows high flowering-stage losses, irrigation during this period would have the highest return on investment.

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Comparing Methods

You can switch between methods using the selector cards at the top. Each card shows:
  • Method name and description
  • Accuracy range
  • Complexity indicator
If all 3 methods agree closely (within 5%), you can have high confidence in the estimate. Large disagreements suggest model uncertainty — Method B is the most reliable default.

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Export

Click the CSV export button to download yield estimates for all methods, including per-stage breakdown data.

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How It All Connects

NASA POWER Daily Data
    │
    ├──→ ET₀ (Penman-Monteith) ──→ Water Balance Tab
    │         │                       │
    │         ├── × Kc ──→ ETc       │
    │         └── × Ks ──→ ETa       │
    │                                 │
    │   Water Balance Results ────────┘
    │         │
    │         ├──→ Method A: Ky × (1 − ETa/ETc) ──→ Yield Potential
    │         ├──→ Method B: WP* × Σ(Tr/ET₀) × HI ──→ Yield Potential
    │         └──→ Method C: Dual Kc + NDVI ──→ Yield Potential
    │
    └──→ GDD ──→ Phenology Stage ──→ Stage-specific Ky values
Yield estimates are persisted to the database and can be compared across all fields in a season using the Yield Race analytics feature on the Season Detail page. See the Season Analytics guide for cross-field comparison tools.