Research Specialties.....

Crop Simulation....

Crop simulation modeling is a powerful scientific tool that can be used to explore several avenues of research in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum. Processes in the soil-plant-atmosphere continuum occur at the electron level over the smallest of time scales. Many approaches to crop simulation modeling deal with organ (leaf, stem, root, kernel) level responses at time scales that range from an hour to a day. An important question is how does one accurately go from the former to the latter time scale and at what level of plant organization? There must be a balance, a harmony, between the processes represented in this continuum and current knowledge. Crop simulation models are widely used to address "what if" type questions with yield as the main response of interest. Increasingly, quality of the reproductive organs is becoming as important, such as simulating the protein content of wheat. Examples of "what if" type questions are: what if the climate changes, different irrigation or fertilization regimes are used, different sowing dates are used, different cultivars are used, etc. In addressing actual yield predictions required by governments, private corporations, or NGOs, different types of simulation models are used than those used for "what if" type questions. Most of the effort in crop simulation modeling has been devoted to agronomic crops such as corn, wheat, soybean, rice, and sorghum, but simulation of vegetable crops is taking on increased importance. We are at the beginning of a major advance in crop simulation modeling, as the knowledge gained from plant genomics will be incorporated into these models. As with any paradigm shift, there will be excitement and frustration.

Participating Faculty...

Albert Weiss