Free Standard AU & NZ Shipping For All Book Orders Over $80!
Register      Login
Animal Production Science Animal Production Science Society
Food, fibre and pharmaceuticals from animals
Shopping Cart: ( empty )
You are here: Home > Journals > AN > EA06105 > Fulltext
RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 48(3)

Architectural modelling of maize under water stress

Colin J. Birch A F , David Thornby A E , Steve Adkins B , Bruno Andrieu C and Jim Hanan D
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Land, Crop and Food Science, The University of Queensland, Gatton Campus, Gatton, Qld 4343, Australia.

B School of Land, Crop and Food Science, The University of Queensland, Qld 4072, Australia.

C Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, Centre de Versailles-Grignon, Unité Environment et Grandes Cultures, 78850, Thierval-Grignon, France.

D ARC Centre of Excellence for Integrative Legume Research, ARC Centre for Complex Systems and Advanced Computational Modelling Centre, The University of Queensland, Qld 4072, Australia.

E Present address: Queensland Department of Primary Industries and Fisheries, Leslie Research Centre, Toowoomba, Qld 4350, Australia.

F Corresponding author. Email: c.birch@uq.edu.au

Australian Journal of Experimental Agriculture 48(3) 335-341 https://doi.org/10.1071/EA06105
Submitted: 6 February 2006  Accepted: 15 May 2006   Published: 4 February 2008

Abstract

Two field experiments using maize (Pioneer 31H50) and three watering regimes [(i) irrigated for the whole crop cycle, until anthesis, (ii) not at all (experiment 1) and (iii) fully irrigated and rain grown for the whole crop cycle (experiment 2)] were conducted at Gatton, Australia, during the 2003–04 season. Data on crop ontogeny, leaf, sheath and internode lengths and leaf width, and senescence were collected at 1- to 3-day intervals. A glasshouse experiment during 2003 quantified the responses of leaf shape and leaf presentation to various levels of water stress. Data from experiment 1 were used to modify and parameterise an architectural model of maize (ADEL-Maize) to incorporate the impact of water stress on maize canopy characteristics. The modified model produced accurate fitted values for experiment 1 for final leaf area and plant height, but values during development for leaf area were lower than observed data. Crop duration was reasonably well fitted and differences between the fully irrigated and rain-grown crops were accurately predicted. Final representations of maize crop canopies were realistic. Possible explanations for low values of leaf area are provided. The model requires further development using data from the glasshouse study and before being validated using data from experiment 2 and other independent data. It will then be used to extend functionality in architectural models of maize. With further research and development, the model should be particularly useful in examining the response of maize production to water stress including improved prediction of total biomass and grain yield. This will facilitate improved simulation of plant growth and development processes allowing investigation of genotype by environment interactions under conditions of suboptimal water supply.

Additional keywords: functional–structural plant modelling, internode extension, leaf extension, Zea mays.


References


Birch CJ (1991) Development and yield of selected maize cultivars in the sub–tropics. In ‘Maize in Australia – food, forage and grain. Proceedings of the 1st Australian maize conference, Kyabram, Victoria’. (Ed. J. Moran) pp. 50–53.

Birch CJ (1996) Modelling crop ontogeny, leaf area, and dry matter accumulation and distribution in diverse cultivars of maize. Ph D Thesis, The University of Queensland. 258 pp.

Birch CJ, Rickert KG, Hammer GL (1998) Modelling leaf production and crop development in maize (Zea mays L.) after tassel initiation under diverse conditions of temperature and photoperiod. Field Crops Research 58, 81–95.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Birch CJ, Andrieu B, Fournier C (2002) Dynamics of internode and stem elongation in three cultivars of maize. Agronomie 22, 511–524.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Birch CJ, Andrieu B, Fournier C, Vos J, Room P (2003) Modelling kinetics of plant canopy architecture – concepts and applications. European Journal of Agronomy 19, 519–533.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Birch CJ, Andrieu B, Fournier C (2007) Kinetics of leaf extension in maize: parameterization for two tropically adapted cultivars planted on two dates at Gatton. European Journal of Agronomy 27, 215–224.
| Crossref |
open url image1

Dalgleish N, Foale M (1998) ‘Soil matters – monitoring soil water and nutrients in rain-grown farming.’ (Agricultural Production Systems Research Unit: Toowoomba, Australia)

Evers JB, Vos J, Fournier C, Andrieu B, Chelle M, Struik PC (2005) Towards a generic architectural model of tillering in Gramineae, as exemplified by spring wheat (Tricitum aestivum). New Phytologist 166, 801–812.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Fournier C, Andrieu B (1998) A 3D architectural and process-based model of maize development. Annals of Botany 81, 233–250.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Fournier C, Andrieu B (1999) ADEL-Maize: an L-System based model for the integration of growth processes from the organ to the canopy. Application to regulation of morphogenesis by light availability. Agronomie 19, 313–327.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Fournier C, Andrieu B (2000) Dynamics of the elongation of internodes in maize (Zea mays L.): analysis of phases of elongation and their relationships to phytomer development. Annals of Botany 86, 551–563.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Fournier C, Andrieu B, Ljutovac S, Saint-Jean S (2003) ADEL-wheat: a 3D architectural model of wheat development. In ‘International symposium on plant growth modeling, simulation, visualization, and their applications’. (Eds BG Hu, M Jaeger) pp. 54–63. (Tsinghua University Press/Springer: Beijing, China)

Grant RF, Jackson BS, Kiniry JR, Arkin GF (1989) Water deficit timing effects on yield components in maize. Agronomy Journal 81, 61–65. open url image1

Hanan JS (1997) Virtual plants: integrating physiological and architectural models Environmental Modelling & Software 12, 35–42.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Hanan JS, Hearn AB (2003) Linking physiological and architectural models of cotton. Agricultural Systems 75, 47–77.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Hanan J, Room P (1997) Practical aspects of virtual plant research. In ‘Plants to ecosystems. Advances in computational life sciences. Vol. 1’. (Ed. M Michalewicz) pp. 28–44. (CSIRO Publishing: Melbourne)

Hunt LA, Yan W, McMaster GS (2001) Simulating response to temperature. In ‘Proceedings of a workshop: modeling temperature response in wheat and maize’. (Ed. JW White) pp. 23–29. (International Maize And Wheat Improvement Centre: Mexico)

Karanja DR (1993) The effect of planting date on growth and development of short, medium and long season maize (Zea mays) cultivars. MAgrSc Thesis, The University of Queensland. 186 pp.

Lindenmayer A (1968) Mathematical models for cellular interaction in development. Parts I and II. Journal of Theoretical Biology 18, 280–315.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Madhiyazhagan R (2005) Modelling approach to assess the impact of high temperature and water stress on dry land maize. PhD Thesis, The University of Queensland, Australia.

Meyer SJ, Hubbard KG, Whittle DA (1993) A crop-specific drought index for corn: II Application in drought monitoring and assessment. Agronomy Journal 85, 396–399. open url image1

McCown RL, Keating BA, Carberry PS, Hochman Z, Hargreaves D (2002) The co-evolution of the agricultural production systems simulator (APSIM) and its use in Australian rain-grown cropping research and farm management intervention. In ‘Agricultural systems models in field research and technology transfer’. (Eds LR Ahuja, L Ma, TA Howell) pp. 149–176. (CRC Press: Florida)

Moncur MW (1981) ‘Floral initiation in field crops. An atlas of scanning electron micrographs.’ (CSIRO Division of Land Use Research: Canberra)

Muchow RC (1989) Comparative productivity of maize, sorghum and pearl millet in a semi-arid tropical environment. II Effects of water deficits. Field Crops Research 20, 207–219.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Muchow RC, Carberry PS (1989) Environmental control of phenology and leaf growth in a tropically adapted maize. Field Crops Research 20, 221–236.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Muchow RC, Sinclair TR (1991) Water deficit effects on maize yields modelled under current and ‘greenhouse’ climates. Agronomy Journal 83, 1052–1059. open url image1

Padilla JM, Ortegui ME (2005) Co-ordination between leaf initiation and leaf appearance in field-grown maize (Zea mays): genotypic differences in response of rates to temperature. Annals of Botany 96, 997–1007.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | CAS | PubMed | open url image1

Prusinkiewicz P (1998) Modeling of spatial structure and development of plants. Scientia Horticulturae 74, 113–149.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Prusinkiewicz P, Hanan JS, Mêch R (2000) An L-system-based plant modeling language. In ‘Applications of graph transformations with industrial relevance’. (Eds M Nagl, A. Schurr, M. Munch) pp. 395–410. (Springer-Verlag: Berlin)

Room PM, Hanan JS, Prusinkiewicz P (1996) Virtual plants: new perspectives for ecologists, pathologists and agricultural scientists. Trends in Plant Science 1, 33–38.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | open url image1

Room P, Hanan J, Nolan B, Battaglia R (2000) Pesticide targeting: measuring and simulating effects of plant architecture on pesticide deposition. Insect pest management in sweet corn. In ‘Proceedings of workshop no. 3, Bowen Research Station’. pp. 20–25. (Queensland Department of Primary Industries: Brisbane)

Schafer BM, Ritchie AM, Strachan DB (1986) . Soils of the Queensland Agricultural College farm, Darbalara. Queensland Agricultural College Technical Report No. 7. Queensland Agricultural College, Lawes.

Trenbath BR, Angus JF (1975) Leaf inclination and crop production. Field Crop Abstracts 28, 231–244. open url image1

Westgate ME, Boyer JS (1985) Carbohydrate reserves and reproductive development at low leaf water potentials in maize. Crop Science 25, 762–769.
|  CAS |
open url image1

Watanabe T, Hanan J, Room P, Hasegawa T, Nakagawa H, Takahashi W (2005) Rice morphogenesis and plant architecture: measurement, specification and the reconstruction of structural development by 3D architectural modelling. Annals of Botany 95, 1131–1143.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1

Yan HP, Kang MZ, deReffye P, Dingkuhn M (2004) A dynamic, architectural plant model simulating resource dependent growth. Annals of Botany 93, 591–602.
| Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | PubMed | open url image1