A comparison of statistical and soil moisture modeling techniques in a long-term study of wheat yield performance under semi-arid conditions.
Abstract
3 long series of rainfall and wheat yield data in climatically different regions of Israel were analysed by means of different statistical methods (multiple regression, principal components and Fisher's method), as well as by means of a simple soil moisture simulation technique. Both the statistical methods and the simulation model gave good results in the arid zone, accounting in all instances for >70% of the yield variations. In areas of higher rainfall the statistical methods that gave the best results explained about 30% of the variations in yield compared with 50% of these variations that were accounted for by the simulation model.