Global sowing and harvesting windows of major crops

Using daily weather data for the period 1996–2005 as the inputs to a rule-based model, we derive calendars for maize, rice, winter and spring wheat and soybeans around the year 2000 with a spatial resolution of 0.5° in latitude and longitude. Winter and spring wheat and rainfed versus irrigated conditions are differentiated. Separate calendars for rainfed and irrigated conditions and three representative varieties (short-, medium- and long-season varieties) are estimated. The daily probabilities of sowing and harvesting derived using the model can be converted into sowing and harvesting windows, respectively, with user-defined thresholds.