Concepts to Model Growth and Development of Plants

Models on plant function and plant structure need to describe two different aspects of plant performance: growth and development, including organogenesis. Growth results from light interception and photosynthesis, taking respiratory losses into account. Carbon partitioning and source-sink relations determine the growth rate of simultaneously growing organs. Development can be described as a temperature dependent rate of progression through the life cycle, but needs to include organogenesis and the fate of buds if the model addresses plant structure. The most important concepts used in modelling are highlighted, making a distinction between proces-based (crop) models and functional-structural models. It is stated that truly functional-structural models, that integrate aspects of plant structure and plant function, need extended knowledge of the factors responsible for dormancy or outgrowth of each bud.