8 Mar 2006 16:00
Unit:
Wageningen UR
Location:
Aula, building 362, Gen. Foulkesweg 1, Wageningen
Organisation:
Wageningen University
Promotor:
dr.ir. P.C. Struik (Crop Physiology)
Co Promotor:
Dr.ir. J. Vos, Dr. B. Andrieu (Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique Versailles-Grignon, France)
In this PhD research the tillering pattern in spring wheat was analysed, using a 3D virtual plant modelling approach. Tillering is highly dependent on several properties of light (the intensity of the light, and the red/far-red ratio among others) falling on specific plant organs. The 3D virtual plant approach is highly suitable for the analysis of these local effects on tillering, because the method quantifies the architecture on the level of the organ in three dimensions: the shape and position in space of the leaves, stem parts, and all other organs are explicitly described. The approach uses the L-system principles, which are based on the repetitive nature of the segments that comprise a plant: by repeating the basic segment (the phytomer, consisting of a stem part with a leaf and a tiller bud) the development of a canopy of plants can be simulated in 3D. By calculating the distribution of light in the canopy, taking into account the scattering of light by leaves and stems, the properties of light falling on every individual organ can be determined very accurately. This PhD study has demonstrated that this method is a powerful tool to analyse crop morphological/ecological research questions in which the determinants act on the level of the individual plant organ.