What does 'GDD' stand for in the context of agriculture?

'GDD' stands for Growing Degree Days, which is a crucial concept in agriculture used to measure heat accumulation. This metric helps farmers and agronomists predict plant development rates, including germination, flowering, and maturity stages. By accumulating daily temperature data, GDD provides insights into the growth cycles of crops, allowing for better planning of planting and harvesting times. Understanding GDD enables agricultural professionals to optimize their practices according to the climate and seasonal variations, resulting in improved crop yields and management efficiency.

The other options, while they may sound plausible, do not accurately reflect the established agricultural term that relates to temperature and its effect on plant development. General development degrees, greenhouse design data, and growth delay determinant do not align with the recognized use of GDD in the context of monitoring and predicting agricultural crop performance.