Heidi,

I agree with the comments of Gerrit Hoogenboom.  Be sure you have
Nitrogen balance "ON".  If you ask for no N stress or no N balance, then
the LAI will be high and not very limited.

Let me respond on the SLAVR question.  In addition to creating lower
SLAVR (to reduce LAI), there are some other possibilities.   Some common
bean cultivars are truly determinate types.  If so, you need to have a
fairly small value for both FLLF and FLVS.

Ken Boote

Gerrit Hoogenboom wrote:

> Heidi,
>
> You might want to check the simulation control options in your file.
> Please make sure that NITRO and SYMBI are set to "Y." However, please
> note that if you set the rhizobia number and effectiveness to 0, dry
> bean will start acting like a corn plant, and extract nitrogen from
> the soil. Without nitrogen your crop will not be able to grow.
>
> One question I have relates to your field data. How accurate are your
> LAI data and how did you or your collaborators measure it? If your
> biomass predictions, e.g., total biomass and leaf and stem mass, fit
> well, there is a high likelihood that there is a problem with your
> LAI measurements.
>
> Regards,
>
> Gerrit
>
> At 02:24 PM 09/17/2006, you wrote:
>
>> Hello:
>>
>> I am trying to add a cultivar of common bean from Uzbekistan to the
>> BNGRO040.CUL file following the methodology outlined by Ken Boote.  I
>> am at the stage of trying to fit the simulated LAI to our field
>> measured data, and cannot force the LAI low enough without decreasing
>> SLAVR much lower than any other cultivars.  As we observed little or no
>> nodule formation in the field with our beans, we have set the rhizobia
>> number and effectiveness to 0 in X_Build.  However, this does not
>> produce any effect on LAI, biomass, yield or the nitrogen stress factor.
>>
>> Does anyone have any advice?
>>
>> Thank you,
>>
>> Heidi
>