Defining strategies for better use of nitrogen by crops requires sufficiently mechanistic models of nitrogen acquisition and use by plants. Bertheloot et al. describe the model NEMA (Nitrogen Economy Model within plant Architecture), developed for wheat (Triticum aestivum) after flowering, which implements a simple, yet process-based approach to simulate N fluxes within a realistic description of plant botanical structure.The model integrates the main feedbacks known to regulate plant N economy, and includes simulation of N for all photosynthetic tissues.
