ISHS Acta Horticulturae 507: III International Workshop on Models for Plant Growth and Control of the Shoot and Root Environments in Greenhouses
MODELING ROOT GROWTH AND IMPACT ON PLANT DEVELOPMENT |
| Author: | G. Hoogenboom |
| Keywords: | Partitioning, Stress, Soil, Computer Simulation, Soil-Plant-Atmosphere System, Systems Analysis |
| Abstract:
Roots are a key component of the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. Even for horticultural crops, including those grown in greenhouses and containers, roots play a critical role with respect to providing water and basic nutrients for shoot as well as root growth and development. Despite the importance of roots, they are often not included in crop simulation models, or not included at the same level of detail as the shoot system. Two general groups of root models currently exist. The first group mainly deals with the geometrics of the roots and includes some root functionality, such as water uptake, but does not provide an interaction with the shoot system. Many of these models simulate root growth and development for a three-dimensional soil profile. In the second group of models a more comprehensive canopy system is included, but the root system is simplified. In these models roots are normally simulated in a one-dimensional soil profile, in which it is assumed that conditions are identical within a horizontal root layer. To predict the impact of stress factors, simulation of both the root system and shoot system is required. Most comprehensive crop simulation models simulate the impact of water and nitrogen stress on shoot and root development, while other biotic and abiotic factors are rarely included. Model improvement is needed to handle these additional soil factors. However, it will be important to determine the objectives of your modeling application, before investing in additional data collection for model development. Further research should be focussed to help improve the modeling of the root system and its impact on plant growth and development. | |
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