COMPUTER SIMULATION OF PLANT WATER RELATIONS OF SOYBEAN CROPS.

A model of heat and water balance of a crop has been formulated and solved numerically. The feedback relationships between leaf temperature, transpiration, stomatal resistance, leaf water potential and amount of water stored in the plant have been described and simulated. Results of the calculations agree well with experimental data of transpiration and leaf water potential in soybeans grown in the field at the Narrabri Agricultural Research Station, Australia. Most of the data used in this simulation were obtained during a period of clear sunny weather from 11 to 17 March 1976, inclusive. A change in the computer simulation model written in FORTRAN from one plant species to another may be achieved simply by alteration of the input parameters.