Introductory Remarks.

Introductory remarks by Albert Weiss

One of the biggest problems currently facing crop simulation modeling is how to incorporate genomics into models resulting in the ability to simulate phenotypic plasticity. At one time, it was possible for a modeler or a small group of modelers to understand the necessary physiology, physics, and soil science and incorporate this knowledge into a model. With the advent of biotechnology and crop genomics, this approach no longer works, in part, because of the different scales of plant organization. Most crop simulation models work on the organ, plant, and field scale while genomics deals with a much lower level of plant organization. One way to bring these divergent groups of scientists together to develop new or modify existing crop simulation models that incorporate the ability to simulate phenotypic plasticity is an international competition similar to the Netflix, L, or X prizes.

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