Maize is a global staple crop with major stakeholders in industry, but surprisingly many of its secrets
on growth and development, in particular in response to environmental constraints that affect yield,
remain hidden. High evaporative demand, and low soil water and nitrogen content directly and
indirectly affect yield, likely due to competition for resources (water, carbon, nitrogen) between
leaf, stem and ears, but the underlying mechanisms and complex interactions are poorly
understood. Moreover, crucial knowledge is lacking to fully comprehend how a particular duration
and timing of stress with regard to developmental stage affects growth and yield in maize. This
project is therefore important and timely because it aims to fill important gaps in our understanding
of maize growth and development. In a unique set-up where plant sensors continuously measure
the functioning of plants moving in the PHENOVISION plant phenotyping platform, an unparalleled
dataset of maize functioning and structure throughout development, and under drought and
nitrogen deficiency conditions, will be collected. This comprehensive source of information will be
used to build a functional-structural plant model (FSPM) for maize using several novel concepts, and
the FSPM will be applied to further our biological knowledge on maize growth and yield potential.