Simulating the Influences of Soil Water Stress on Leaf Expansion and Senescence of Winter Wheat

•Expansion and senescence of wheat LAI were quantified using first order derivative of logistic function.•New model added dynamics of tillering and leaf area of tiller cohorts.•Expansion rate of winter wheat LAI responded linearly to soil water stress.•Senescence rate of winter wheat LAI responded non-linearly to soil water stress.•RMSE simulated by the new LAI model was 47.89% lower than that of the original CERES-Wheat model.