Abstract: Based on the field experiments with different plant-type wheat (Triticum aestivum) cultivars and varied population densities, the time-course changes in the angle between stem and sheath (stem-sheath angle) on main stem were observed, and a process-based model was developed for simulating the growth dynamics of stem-sheath angle on the main stem by using system analysis method and dynamic modeling technology. The stem-sheath angle increased with the growth of corresponding leaves, and decreased with increasing population density. The maximum stem-sheath angle decreased with increasing leaf position, except for the first leaf on main stem. The growth dynamics of stem-sheath angle could be described with Logistic equation, and the changes in the maximum stem-sheath angle with leaf position could be quantified with two different equations. The maximal value of stem-sheath angle at the second leaf position was considered as the cultivar parameter to reflect the genetic differences, and the plant number per unit area was used to quantify the effects of population density. The independent field experiment dataset of different wheat cultivars was used to test the model, and the average RMSE between estimated and observed values was 1.7°, suggesting that the present model had good performance and reliability on predicting the growth dynamics of wheat stem-sheath angle, and provided a key module for wheat plant-type simulation and visualization.

Key words: long-term fertilization, double rice cropping, basic soil productivity, wheat, stem-sheath angle, simulation model, soil organic matter., Poyang Lake region