Potential role of 3D modelling of canopy architecture to explore G x E x M interactions in wheat

The potential yield of a crop in a specific environment depends on its canopy architecture, which refers to the dynamic changes in size, orientation and spatial arrangement of leaves and other plant organs over time, as driven by the underlying physiology. Canopy architecture is increasingly viewed as a trait to be manipulated by plant breeders as it influences how plants capture resources. However, selection for specific architectural traits has been elusive, partly because architecture is only one of many traits affecting yield and partly because effects of architecture on resource capture are hard to quantify. Advances in modelling of plant architecture and physiological functions using functional-structural plant (FSP) models allow for feedbacks between environmental factors, architecture, and selected physiological processes to be explored. As an example, an FSP model of spring wheat was developed to dynamically simulate the architecture of an expanding wheat crop, taking into account growth and development, size, shape and orientation in space of each organ in relation to thermal time. Here, we show how this model can be used to assess the effects of different planting arrangements (row and grid configurations) on light intercepted by a wheat canopy. We conclude that FSP models could assist in exploring contributions of architectural traits to crop performance to improve understanding of G x E x M interactions.