EaSiCroM: A Modular, Low-Parameterisation Decision Support System for Crop Growth Simulation and Irrigation Scheduling in Water-Scarce Agricultural Systems

Crop simulation models and irrigation decision support systems (IDSS) are essential tools for improving water use efficiency, particularly in Mediterranean and semi-arid regions where water scarcity is a major constraint. However, many platforms are either too complex for widespread adoption or too simplified to capture the combined effects of temperature, water stress, and elevated CO 2 on crop responses. This paper presents the Easy Simulator Crop Model (EaSiCroM), a modular, low-parameterisation system designed to simulate daily crop growth, soil water dynamics, and irrigation requirements. Canopy development follows a beta-function LAI trajectory with Beer–Lambert canopy cover, progressively constrained by temperature (T lim ) and water stress (K stress , KS cc ). Biomass accumulation combines a water productivity (WP) approach with an optional radiation-use efficiency (RUE) pathway, both scaled by a Michaelis–Menten CO 2 fertilisation sub-model. The soil water balance includes a two-stage bare-soil evaporation formulation and multiple irrigation triggering strategies. EaSiCroM is implemented as a Docker-containerised web application supporting single-crop, multi-plot, and near-real-time irrigation modes, with optional assimilation of user-provided canopy observations from field or remote sensing sources. A proof-of-concept evaluation across four Mediterranean crops (processing tomato, biomass sorghum, sunflower, and durum wheat) yielded RRMSE values between 13.8% and 26.1%, comparable to AquaCrop and CropSyst on the same datasets. Its modular architecture makes it suitable for both research and operational irrigation management in water-scarce environments.