Part I - Current plant growth models, applications, and data: Mathematical descriptions of plant growth and development; Applied plant growth models for grazinglands, forests and crops; Data for plant growth modeling, and evaluation. Parte II - Forescasting and estimating plant yield: Choosing a basis for yield forecasts and estimates; Forecasting andestimating effects of weather on yield; The scale problem, modeling plant yield over time and space. Part III - The future of applied plant growth modeling: The future of applied plant growth modeling.

This timely text describes the physiological components, and models of them, of the growth determinants defined in Physiological Determinants of Crop Growth by D. A. Charles-Edwards (Academic Press). It extends the original analysis of dry matter production to encompass the morphological and phenological development of the plant. It uses the framework provided by the defined physiological determinants of growth as a vehicle to integrate knowledge of basic plant processes (leaf growth, phyllotaxis, flowering, etc.) into an understanding of whole plant performance. Mathematics, mostly simple algebra, is used to formalise and quantify the relationships between the different plant processes.

Plant growth is of great economical and intellectual interest. Plants are the basis of our living environment, the production of our food and a myriad of plant-based natural products. Plant bio-mass is also becoming an important renewable energy resource. Agricultural plant cultivation and breeding programs have altered plant productivity and yield parameters extensively, yet the principles and underlying mechanisms are not well understood. At the cellular level, growth is the result of only two processes, cell division and cell expansion, but these two processes are controlled by intertwined signaling cascades and regulatory mechanisms forming complex regulatory networks. Ultimately this network is what plant scientists are trying to unravel. The sequencing of model and agronomically important plant genomes allows complete insight into the molecular components involved in each process. Methods to quantify the molecular changes, image growth processes and reconstruct growth regulatory networks are rapidly developing. This knowledge should help to elucidate key regulators and to design methods to engineer plant architecture and growth parameters for future human needs. This volume gives a comprehensive overview of what is known about plant growth regulation and growth restraints due to environmental conditions and should allow readers at all levels an entry into this exiting field of research.