Using L-studio to Visualize Data and Modify Plant Architecture for Agronomic Purposes: Visualization and modification of plant architecture with L-studio

Abstract

Visual representations of plant architectural data are useful for different reasons, e.g. data verification, preliminary analysis, or demonstrating and communicating research. Architectural data are the result of measurements in the field or simulations with plant growth models, which are often recorded in multiscale tree graphs (MTG). L-studio is a modelling platform that includes a simulation program called lpfg based on L-systems. Lpfg has been employed to create tree-like structures, and simulate the dynamical growth and development of plants, i.e. their changes in time. This program incorporates several features that would make it a very useful tool for visualizing plant architectures measured in the field. Our aims are to show some examples of the use of L-systems as a visualization tool for field data; and modify architectural data to create architectures resulting from applying different management practices, e.g. mechanical pruning and tree shape. We employed a field measured architecture recorded in an MTG as an example of our approach to visualize and modify plant architectures. These ideas can be employed for field data verification, preliminary analysis, demonstrative purposes, and to start subsequent simulations of plant growth with architectures modified to represent different management practices.