Ontogenesis is important for internal time control in plant growth models and for control decisions on agronomic measures within a computer-aided crop management. Current ontogenesis models for winter wheat which have been reported in the literature are outlined and compared. They are tested under the conditions of Muncheberg on the basis of data collected over five years. Conclusions are drawn upon the applicability of the model to other local conditions. The temperature sum models show the greatest deviations between model and observed data. None of the models considers the controllable parameters water and nitrogen status.