Certain plant parts have cells arranged end to end in more or less dis
tinct files (e.g., monocot leaves, roots, filamentous algae). Modeling
the growth and development of such files of cells can give us insight
s into processes governing cell division and cell expansion. The objec
tives of this research were to construct a cell-based model of a growi
ng file of cells and to examine the effects of the daughter ratio vs.
time function on the growth of the file. The file is considered to be
a group of cells along the length of a monocot leaf. Cell expansion is
described by water Bus equations. Cell division is determined by a da
ughter ratio vs. time function. The daughter ratio is defined as the p
roportion of cells that remain proliferative (capable of further divis
ion) after each cell division event. Outputs from the model include th
e elongation rate of the entire file, the growth rate distribution alo
ng the file, and the proliferative fractions for groups of cells along
the file. Outputs are compared with field measurements of leaf elonga
tion in sorghum [Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench] plants. The model overes
timates the length of the expanding zone compared with the field measu
rements. There is close agreement between model outputs and field meas
urements of relative growth rates along expanding portions of leaves a
nd estimated proliferative fractions of expanding leaves. The effects
of using different daughter ratio vs. time functions on model outputs
are also examined.