Mathematical modeling on tomato plants: A review

Mathematical models allow for predictions of behavior under specific handling and environmental conditions, and are particularly useful in expensive studies or in studies where long term effects may be difficult to monitor. In mathematical modeling there are two main types of models: descriptive models and mechanistic models; the first are relationships between response and predictor which are not ruled by biological processes; the latter takes into account the basic processes in plants by means of differential equations to account for the development of plants. This requires a deeper knowledge of the physiological development of plants. This work reviews mathematical modeling on tomato plant. The TOMGRO model is modular and has been widely studied and calibrated under several climatic conditions which demonstrates that it is a robust model. As a future research the TOMGRO model is proposed to be adapted to other crops.   Key words: Differential equations, descriptive models, mechanistic models.