Development and applications of potato growth models

The growth and yield of potato are largely affected by the genetic variation as well as the environmental conditions. Potato growth model can be used to quantify the interaction of the physiological and the ecological processes. Thus, the analysis of interaction between inner structure (both genetic and physiological) and the environmental factors can facility the making of a accurate planting management decisions, achieving the objective of improvement of both the yield and the quality. Nowadays, many potato growth models have been developed and some of them had been tested and evaluated in the potato production, such as SUBSTOR-potato, NPOTATO, and LINTUL-POTATO. However, the application of potato growth models in China is still in its infancy. This paper summarized the latest development of available potato growth models and compared their main characteristics. Meanwhile, the development purposes of some prevailing potato growth models were reviewed. The majority of potato growth models are focused on the distribution of C and N elements, but they lack the analysis of P and K elements. The results also indicated that the construction of the potato growth models is rather complicated than those of other crops, which needs more detailed knowledge of genetic and the climate factors governing potato growth. In addition, the prospect of applying potato growth models in China was also discussed.