CropForge

CropForge lets you define a crop simulation entirely in Python. You write the model equations; CropForge handles time-stepping, spatial state management, terrain physics, sediment dynamics, Parquet logging, and a WebGL 3D dashboard.

pip install cropforge

What's New in v1.0.0 - Community Release

v1.0.0 adds opt-in Weed Competition, Planting Density and yield_summary(), Irrigation Animation, a Yield Metrics dashboard panel, citation metadata, Zenodo metadata, issue templates, and community contribution governance.

Intercropping is intentionally deferred to v1.1.0 so the v1.0.0 API can stay stable for publication and early adopters.

What's New in v0.9.5 - Visual Architecture Complete

v0.9.5 completes CropForge's visual architecture arc with First-Party Asset Bundles, Machinery Animation, Stress/Disease Visualizations, enhanced-mode rain particles, PBR rendering, morph targets, and terrain-aware GLB export.

Open-source, code-first virtual farm runtime for agricultural researchers.

What's New in v0.9.0 — Photorealistic PBR Rendering & GLTF Export

v0.9.0 closes the visual arc: the simulation now renders with photorealistic PBR materials, exports full 3D scenes as industry-standard .glb files, and resolves plants to registered GLTF stage models.

Photorealistic PBR Rendering

farm.run(days=90)
farm.visualize(quality="enhanced")   # MeshStandardMaterial, shadows, sun-angle light
farm.visualize()                     # quality="standard" — identical to v0.8.0

Plant Stage Architecture & Model Registry

from cropforge.models import ModelRegistry

ModelRegistry.register(
    species="Triticum aestivum",
    stage=4,
    gltf_path="models/wheat_heading.glb",
)
# Cylinder fallback automatic if no model registered

GLTF Scene Export — Blender / Unreal Engine Ready

farm.run(days=90)
farm.export_scene(day=45, filepath="output/farm_day45.glb")
# pip install cropforge[export]  required

The dashboard also provides a one-click Export 3D Scene (.glb) button.

High-Resolution Plotly Terrain

The 3D terrain panel now applies 4× bicubic upsampling (scipy.ndimage.zoom) before display. Physics data is never modified — this is a pure UI enhancement.

What's New in v0.8.0 — Terrain Arc Completion

v0.8.0 closes the terrain arc begun in v0.6.0: the simulation engine now operates at arbitrary sub-metre spatial resolution, sediment moves physically across the landscape, and the 3D renderer stays performant at field scales.

Sub-Metre Resolution

terrain = Terrain.procedural(rows=200, cols=200, resolution_m=0.25)
# All engines (runoff, LS factor, D8 routing, nutrient flux) scale correctly
# resolution_m=1.0 default → zero change to all prior scripts

Sediment Dynamics & Mass Conservation

farm.use_physics(erosion=True, sediment_transport=True)
# Every gram eroded is either deposited downslope or exits the field boundary.
# SoilState gains: sediment_flux_kg_m2, sediment_deposited_kg_m2,
#                  cumulative_sediment_loss_kg_m2, cumulative_deposition_kg_m2

Geomorphological Feedback

The terrain elevation grid updates daily from net sediment flux. Slope and aspect recompute automatically for the next day's D8 routing. Layer 0 topsoil expands and contracts in response.

Advanced Conservation Land Management

from cropforge import TiedRidges, VegetativeFilterStrip

field.set_land_prep(TiedRidges(
    ridge_height_m=0.20, ridge_spacing_m=2.0,
    tie_spacing_m=6.0,   tie_height_m=0.12,
))
# Periodic tie-dams block D8 flow, forming micro-catchments.
# Proved: cumulative erosion < plain RidgeFurrow.

field.set_land_prep(VegetativeFilterStrip(
    strip_width_m=3.0, n_strip_rows=3, position="downslope"
))
# Per-cell roughness=0.95 → 95% reduction in soil detachment at strip rows.

LOD 3D Rendering — 500×500 Fields at 60 fps

The Three.js renderer now chunks terrain into 64×64-cell tiles. Distant chunks automatically downgrade to 1/16th vertex count. For a 500×500 sub-metre field:

Quick Start

from cropforge import Farm, Field, Crop, Soil, Weather, Terrain
from cropforge.plugins import StandardWheat

farm  = Farm(name="MyFarm", location=(28.6, 77.2))
field = Field(name="Plot A", rows=20, cols=30, area_ha=2.4)
field.set_crop(Crop(species="wheat"))
field.set_weather(Weather.from_csv("data/weather.csv"))
field.set_soil(Soil.from_csv("data/soil.csv", apply="uniform"))
field.set_terrain(Terrain.procedural(rows=20, cols=30, resolution_m=0.5))
farm.add_field(field)

field.use_plugin(StandardWheat)
farm.use_physics(
    et0=True, radiation=True, erosion=True, sediment_transport=True,
    slope_radiation_correction=True,
)

farm.run(days=90)
farm.visualize()

See examples/digital_twin_full_lifecycle.py for the complete visual capstone example. See examples/photorealistic_twin_trial.py for the v0.9.0 visual export example. See examples/conservation_ag_trial.py and examples/submetre_performance_trial.py for v0.8.0 examples.

What's New in v0.7.0

• Solar Incidence Engine: slope-aspect radiation correction.
• Wind Shadow Engine: terrain-modulated wind fields.
• Clod Dynamics: exponential roughness decay under rainfall.
• Topographical Erosion: RUSLE model on the 3D terrain.

What's New in v0.6.0

• Terrain Engine: procedural, CSV, and GeoTIFF topographies.
• Land Preparation Modifiers: RidgeFurrow, ContourBund, Terrace, DeepTillage, ConservationTillage.
• D8 Hydrology Coupling: lateral water and nutrient routing over terrain.
• 3D Dashboard Modal: WebGL terrain viewer with agronomic variable overlays.

What's New in v0.5.0 – v0.4.0

• Plugin Ecosystem: StandardWheat, StandardMaize.
• Multi-Season Rotations: soil state carries over between runs.
• Compare Dashboard: side-by-side farm comparisons, CSV export.
• Opt-In Physics: FAO-56 ET0, Beer-Lambert radiation, SIR disease spread.

Documentation

Full documentation at cropforge.readthedocs.io.

Citing CropForge

If you use CropForge in academic work, please cite the software. The repository includes CITATION.cff, which GitHub and Zenodo can read directly.

JOSS-style software citation:

Rath, S. S. (2026). CropForge: A Python-first virtual farm runtime for crop simulation, spatial physics, and 3D agronomic digital twins. Version 1.0.0. https://github.com/saswatsundar123/cropforge

BibTeX:

@software{rath_2026_cropforge,
  author  = {Rath, Saswat Sundar},
  title   = {CropForge},
  version = {1.0.0},
  year    = {2026},
  url     = {https://github.com/saswatsundar123/cropforge},
  license = {MIT}
}

Licence

MIT — Saswat Sundar Rath, ICAR-IARI Jharkhand, 2026