Abstract
This study developed a method for estimating the leaf area (LA) of muskmelon by using allometry. The best linear measure was evaluated first, testing both a leaf length and width (W). Leaf samples were collected from plants grown in containers of different sizes, leaves of four cultivars, at different develpoment stages, and of different leaf sizes. Two constants of a power equation were determined for relating allometrically a linear leaf measure and LA, in a greenhouse crop. W proved to be a better fit than the leaf length. The maximum attainable W and LA were estimated at Wx = 15.4 cm and LAx = 174.1 cm2. The indicators of fit quality showed that the function was properly related to LA and W as: LA/LAx = Ao × (W/WLx)b; the allometric exponent was b = 1.89, where R 2 = 0.9809 (n = 484), the absolute sum of squares, 0.4584, and the standard deviation of residues, 0.03084, based on relative values calculations (LA/LA x and W/WLx). The relationship was not affected by the cultivar, crop age, leaf size or stress treatment in the seedling stage. The empirical value of allometric constant (A0) was estimated as 0.963.
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Abbreviations
- A:
-
area
- A0 :
-
allometric constant
- LA:
-
leaf area
- LAx :
-
maximum attainable leaf area
- b:
-
allometric exponent of leaf width
- L:
-
leaf length
- Lx :
-
maximum attainable leaf length
- M :
-
leaf dry mass
- Sy.x :
-
standard deviation of residuals
- W:
-
leaf width
- Wx :
-
maximum attainable leaf width
- α:
-
allometric exponent of leaf dry mass
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Acknowledgements: I am grateful to Estrella Garrido and Enrique Mundaca for their constructive comments on the manuscript of this article.
An erratum to this article is available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11099-016-0244-4.
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Misle, E., Kahlaoui, B., Hachicha, M. et al. Leaf area estimation in muskmelon by allometry. Photosynthetica 51, 613–620 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-013-0062-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11099-013-0062-x