Towards a mathematical model of plant growth

Mankind has long been interested in the growth of plants, even in the Middle Ages, Leonardo da Vinci observed the seasonality of growth and some features of plant forms. In recent years, many agricultural producers have begun to implement a coordinate (precise) farming system. In this regard, there is a need to improve methods for assessing and managing the growth of agricultural crops. To assess the functioning of the system “plant - soil - air [[CHECK_DOUBLEQUOT_ENT]] (P-S-A), the concept of plant growth potential is introduced, which is the ratio of the power spent on the formation of a unit of vegetation mass. The paper considers the theoretical prerequisites for determining the growth potential. Since the operational management of the formation of the crop yield is an important task in crop production, the functioning of the P-S-A system during the growing season is proposed to be evaluated by dimensionless coefficients, which represent the ratio of the substance mastered by plants to the incoming one. The product of these coefficients in terms of light-heat-food-gas-and moisture supply represents the reliability of the P-S-A system, and allows you to evaluate and effectively manage the technological process of the growth of cultivated plants during the growing season.