ADVANCES AND BOTTLENECKS IN MODELLING MORPHOLOGY AND DEVELOPMENT: SUMMARY OF A GROUP DISCUSSION

This report is a summary of a group discussion at the symposium ‘Models in Protected Cultivation’ held in Wageningen, August 1997. A major aspect of many models in greenhouse production is the characterisation of the occurrence of various events during the cropping period (“development”) as well as the manifestation of morphological indicators.
In the past most crop models have focused primarily on growth (accumulation of biomass), generally attempting to predict final yield or to simulate progress of the system towards final yield.
In horticulture biomass is frequently only one component of yield and crop timing and morphology may be of equal, if not greater, importance, particularly when considering ornamental crops.

The following bottlenecks to modeling development and morphology can be identified:

1. Defining the goal or quality of final product (visible, range of products)

2. Characterising the impact of harvesting on plant morphology, e.g. for rose

3. Defining of the crop’s various developmental stages

4. Image analysis in dense crops. e.g. visualising the interior

5. Influence of plant architecture on crop production

6. Accounting for the effect of variability of plant material on morphology and development

7. Inadequate understanding of the effects of various environmental factors (e.g. temperature, PAR …) on dormancy, bud development, and morphology

8. Linkage of morphology with the process of development and the process of growth

9. Inadequate availability or understanding of tools for dealing with variability in development

10. High level of complexity in modeling development

In addition to these bottlenecks several key issues were identified that were felt to be important.
These included:

1. Questions relative to how models can be used in production settings.

2. Identification of whether quantitative, three-dimensional description of morphology and development are of importance

3. Methods for keeping breast of advances in modeling technology

4. Feasibility of using fractals in conjunction with modeling plant morphology

Advances, break-throughs, and successes in modeling morphology and development:

1. Models for crop development have been shown to be usable to track crop development, which has lead to application in greenhouse production

2. Major benefit of crop models is that growers have become more aware of what is going on with their crops

3. Three-dimensional visualisation and image analysis represent powerful new tools for defining and displaying plant and crop morphology

4. Other tools are on the horizon, or are already available: neural networks, fuzzy logic.

II Modelling Plant Growth, Environmental Control and Farm Management in Protected Cultivation

J. Heinrich Lieth, Ad N.M. de Koning

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1998.456.19