Do plants optimize ?

Abstract

Partitioning in plants means the distribution of dry matter synthetized by photosynthesis between the various parts of the plant (root, leaves, stem and fruits). The gradual change in the distribution between the different growing points of the plant during its development is one of the most important aspects in the study of plant yield and modeling. This paper briefly describes how the concept of optimization procedures can be applied in partitioning in plants, using genetic algorithms. The aim of the study was to check whether the production of a crop at the end of the season is the result of the optimization of the control of the partitioning of photosynthate between the various organs of the plant with the objective of maximizing it final production. This evaluation was carried out using a model of plant growth associated with a genetic algorithm. The results show that the maximization of fruit/seed production is consistent with empirical data.