Dissertation submitted in the compliance with the requirements for the Masters Degree in Technology: Electronic Engineering, Light Current at Technikon Natal, 2000. / The CANEGRO model is a mechanistic model that describes environmental, physiological and managerial features of the agricultural sugarcane production system. The model originated from many sources of crop, climatic and soil research work. This caused a fragmentation in the model's components. The objectives of this study was to give a detailed model overview after an investigation into the model's code, published and unpublished documentation and to propose a mechanistic approach in the modelling of tiller populations. / M