4.10 - Crop Characteristic File (*.cch)
The crop characteristic file (*.cch) contains information such as planting, harvesting, and root depth
for the crop types used in the analysis. This file is read for monthly and daily ET methods. Note that not
all fields are used in a monthly ET analysis, as indicated below. Missing data is accepted using a –999
placeholder. There must be a one-to-one correspondence between crop names in the crop characteristic file
and Blaney-Criddle crop coefficient file (*.kbc) if flag1= 1, or the Penman-Monteith crop coefficient
file (*.kpm) if flag1= 3 or 5. The recommended naming convention to identify crops with their crop
coefficients is Crop_Name.XXX as described in Section 3.1.7. An example is provided in Appendix A.
| Row-Data | Program Variable | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Row 1 | Format (a30, i10(i6), 4(f6.1), 4(i5)) | |
| 1-1 | cropn | Crop name |
| 1-2 | ckey(1) | Model crop number (not used in StateCU) |
| 1-3 | gdate1(1) | Planting month |
| 1-4 | gdate2(1) | Planting day |
| 1-5 | gdate3(1) | Harvest month |
| 1-6 | gdate4(1) | Harvest day |
| 1-7 | gdate5(1) | Days to full cover (only used for daily analysis) |
| 1-8 | gdates(1) | Length of season |
| 1-9 | tmois1(1) | Temperature early moisture (degrees Fahrenheit) |
| 1-10 | tmois2(1) | Temperature late moisture (degrees Fahrenheit) |
| 1-11 | mad(1) | Management allowable deficit level (not used in StateCU) |
| 1-12 | irx(1) | Initial root zone depth (inches) (not used in StateCU) |
| 1-13 | frx(1) | Maximum root zone depth (inches) |
| 1-14 | awc(1) | Available water holding capacity (note this value is overwritten by available water holding capacity defined in the structure (*.str) file) |
| 1-15 | apd(1) | Maximum application depth (inches, only used for daily analysis) |
| 1-16 | tflg1(1) | Sprint frost date flag; 0=mean, 1=28 degree, 2=32 degree |
| 1-17 | tflg2(1) | Fall frost date flag; 0=mean, 1=28 degree, 2=32 degree |
| 1-18 | cut2(1) | Days between 1st and 2nd cuttings (for cropn = 'ALFALFA' only) |
| 1-19 | cut3(1) | Days between 2nd and 3rd cuttings (for cropn = 'ALFALFA' only) |
Repeat for each crop type defined.