New advances in virtual plant research

Virtual plants are computer simulations of the growth, development and depl oyment of plants in three-dimensional space. Over the past 20 years, signif icant progress has been made in virtual plant modeling corresponding to the rapid advances in information technology. Virtual plant research has broad applications in agronomy, forestry, ecology, and remote sensing areas. In this review, we attempt to introduce the significance, modeling methodology , and main advances in virtual plant research and applications. The challen ges associated with virtual plant modeling in agronomy applications, includ ing the interaction mechanism between plant and environment and root system modeling, are also discussed. Insights into applications of virtual plants in agronomy are given in the areas of performing virtual experiments to ac curately quantify the utilization of soil water and nutrients, to design cr op ideotype on computers, and to improve crop planting.