scholarly journals Leaf Appearance Rate of Summer Squash as a Function of Thermal Time

HortScience ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 30 (4) ◽  
pp. 810B-810
Author(s):  
D. Scott NeSmith

Different planting dates were used to study the influence of thermal time on leaf appearance rate of four summer squash (Cucurbita pepo L.) cultivars. During the first year (1991), thermal time or growing degree days (GDD) were calculated using a base temperature of 8C and a ceiling temperature of 32C for several planting dates. Leaf numbers per plant were determined every 2 to 3 days. Leaves that were beginning to unfold with a width of 2 cm or greater were included in the counts. The relationship between leaf number and GDD was established from the initial data set, and data from subsequent years were used for model validation. Results indicated that single equation could be used to predict leaf appearance of all four cultivars in response to thermal time. The response of leaf appearance to GDD was curvilinear, with a lag over the first five leaves. After five leaves, the increase in leaf number per plant was linear with increased GDD. Segmented regression with two linear functions also fit the data well. With this approach, leaf 5 was the node, and a separate linear function was used to predict the leaf number below five leaves and above five leaves. The results of this model should prove to be useful in developing a model of leaf area development, and eventually a crop growth model, for summer squash.

HortScience ◽  
2005 ◽  
Vol 40 (4) ◽  
pp. 1040D-1041
Author(s):  
Gisele Schoene ◽  
Thomas Yeager ◽  
Joe Ritchie

In crop models, it is important to determine the leaf area, because the amount of light interception by leaves influences two very important processes in the plant: photosynthesis and evaporation. Leaf area is dependent on leaf appearance and expansion rates. Leaf appearance rate is driven mainly by temperature. Although the influence of temperature on leaf area development is well known for several agronomic crops, there is no information for woody ornamentals. An experiment was conducted to study the relationship between temperature and leaf appearance of container-grown sweet viburnum. Plants were grown in field conditions in Gainesville, Fla., during two growing periods (Apr. to Aug. 2004 and Aug. 2004 to Jan. 2005). Daily maximum and minimum temperature and leaf appearance were recorded. Linear regression equations were fitted to data and maximum and minimum temperature and leaf appearance were recorded. Linear regression equations were fitted to data and base temperature was assumed to be 8 °C. Thermal time (°C d) was calculated as daily average maximum and minimum air temperature minus the base temperature and was regressed against leaf number. The sum of accumulated thermal time was found to be linearly correlated with leaf number. Phyllochron, which is the thermal time between the appearances of successive leaves, was estimated 51 °C per day. The information presented in this study will be useful in modeling water use of sweet viburnum in response to environmental conditions.


1996 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Pararajasingham ◽  
L. A. Hunt

Research on genotypic variation in the response of leaf-area production and expansion to photoperiod in wheat is limited. Growth-cabinet experiments using four spring and four winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) cultivars and four photoperiod (8, 12, 16 and 20 h) treatments were thus conducted with the objective of investigating the effect of photoperiod on leaf appearance rate and leaf dimensions. Winter wheats were grown without vernalization. In the spring wheats, flag leaves and spikes were formed under the longer photoperiod (16 and 20 h) treatments, and leaf number increased linearly with time. At the shorter photoperiods, flag leaves and spikes appeared in some cultivars only, and the rate of increase in leaf number decreased in the later stages. Final leaf number was greater at shorter photoperiods. In the winter cultivars, more leaves appeared than in the spring types under the longer photoperiods. For leaves 3–7, leaf number was a linear function of time, with photoperiod and cultivar effects. For one of four spring cultivars, the rate of leaf appearance was greater at 8 h than at 20 h, whereas for three of the winter cultivars the reverse was true. Leaf length increased with leaf number up to at least nodes 5–6 for both spring and winter types but decreased for the later-formed leaves for the spring but not for the winter types. Leaves of plants grown under photoperiods longer than 8 h were longer and broader than those grown under the short photoperiod, and the effect was more pronounced in winter than in spring cultivars. Such genotypic differences in the direct effects of photoperiod on leaf dimensions, which could influence the rates of leaf-area production and dry-matter accumulation under field conditions, emphasize that future studies should incorporate genotypes from different eco-physiological regions and that simulation models of wheat growth and development may need to account for variability in the control of vegetative growth. Key words: Wheat, photoperiod, leaf appearance rate, leaf length, leaf width


HortScience ◽  
2000 ◽  
Vol 35 (3) ◽  
pp. 498D-498
Author(s):  
J.T. Baker ◽  
D.I. Leskovar ◽  
V.R. Reddy ◽  
F.J. Dainello

A temperature experiment with two cultivars of muskmelon (`Gold Rush' and `Mission') was conducted in growth chambers to determine how main vine leaf appearance rates responded to temperature. We identified three cardinal temperatures for leaf appearance rate: the base temperature (10 °C) at which leaf appearance rate was zero, an optimum temperature where leaf appearance rate was at a maximum (34 °C) and an upper threshold temperature (45 °C) where leaf appearance rate returned to zero. Using these three cardinal temperatures, we constructed a simplified thermal unit accumulator for hourly measurements of air temperature. Main vine plastochron interval (PI), thermal time to harvest and final yield was determined for three cultivars of muskmelon (`Explorer', `Goldrush', and `Mission') grown in the field over six transplanting dates. The PI was calculated for each cultivar-transplanting date combination as the reciprocal of the slope of main vine node number vs. accumulated hourly thermal units (Tu). The PI was significantly affected by both cultivar and transplanting date. Final yield was sharply reduced in the last two planting dates, presumably due to high temperature stresses impacting reproductive development. As air temperatures warmed during the field experiment, the time interval from transplanting to 10% final harvest were reduced by between 21 to 28 days among the three cultivars and the first four transplanting dates. Our goal was to construct a simple muskmelon phenology model that could be run with easily obtainable weather station data and used by growers to quantify phenological development and aid in projecting harvest dates. We also wanted to test whether main vine node number was a useful description of vegetative development for muskmelon.


Crop Science ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 864-870 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. A. Van Esbroeck ◽  
M. A. Hussey ◽  
M. A. Sanderson

1999 ◽  
Vol 79 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. W. Jame ◽  
H. W. Cutforth ◽  
J. T. Ritchie

The ability to predict leaf appearance would enhance our capability of modeling plant development and the rate of leaf area expansion. Many crop models use the constant thermal time for successive leaf tip appearance (which is often termed a phyllochron) as one model parameter to predict total number of leaves and date of anthesis. However, many researchers have found that phyllochron is not constant, but is dependent upon environment. The problem could be related to the simplified assumption that the daily leaf appearance rate is linearly related to temperature (and hence, phyllochron is constant, independent of temperature). In reality, the temperature response function for the development of a biological system is nonlinear. Thus, we fitted daily leaf appearance rate–temperature relationships obtained from growth room studies for both wheat (Triticum aestivum) and corn (Zea mays L.) to a nonlinear beta function with 0 °C as the base temperature and 42 °C as the upper critical temperature. The function described the relationships very well over the full range of temperatures for plant development. Other variables that are used to describe the duration and rate of leaf appearance, such as calendar days, phyllochron, and thermal rate of leaf appearance, are related to the daily leaf appearance rate, eliminating the need to develop various mathematical functions to independently describe the response of these variables to temperature. Because of the nonlinear nature of the temperature response function, we demonstrated that more accurate determinations of daily leaf appearance rates can be achieved by calculating rates over relatively short periods (i.e., hourly) and summing these to get the mean daily rate. Many environmental factors other than temperature also affect leaf appearance rate. However, once the proper temperature response function for leaf appearance rate is determined, it is much easier to determine when and how other factors are involved to modify the leaf appearance rate under a given environment.Key words: Temperature, leaf appearance rate, phyllochron, wheat, corn, beta function


Author(s):  
Ezio Riggi ◽  
Danilo Scordia ◽  
Concetta Foti Cuzzola ◽  
Giorgio Testa ◽  
Salvatore L. Cosentino

In the present study, a two-year field trial was carried out with the aim to evaluate daylength and air temperature effects on leaf appearance and related rates in two durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.), two bread wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and two barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) cultivars, using six different sowing dates (SD). Significant effects of SD on final main stem leaf number (FLN), thermal leaf appearance rate (TLAR), daily leaf appearance rate (DLAR) and phyllochron (PhL) were found. Cultivars resulted inversely correlated to mean air temperature in the interval emergence - fifth leaf full expansion (E-V). Linear response of leaf number over days after sowing was shown for all SD and cultivars, with R2 higher than 0.95. FLN linearly decreased from the first to the last SD for durum wheat, while more variable behaviour was observed in bread wheat. TLAR and DLAR showed a linear increment of the rate from the first to the last SD in durum wheat, while did not for bread wheat and barley. PhL in durum wheat decreased from the first to the last SD. Barley and bread wheat showed the highest values on those SDs which did not reach flowering. The increase of TLAR was affected by photoperiod and photothermal units in durum wheat, while by temperatures only in barley and bread wheat. Present results might find practical application in the improvement of phenology simulation models for durum wheat, bread wheat and barley grown in Mediterranean area in absence of water and nutrient stress.


1991 ◽  
Vol 71 (2) ◽  
pp. 405-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Morrison ◽  
P. B. E. McVetty

Leaf appearance rate (LAR) is defined as the slope of the regression of leaf number on time of appearance. LARs were calculated for summer rape using both calendar days (CD) and growing degree days (GDD) as measurements of time. The relationship between the number of leaves and GDD or CD was linear. LARs after emergence were 0.022 leaves GDD−1 or 0.247 leaves d−1. Summer rape was grown in growth cabinets set at different mean temperatures to study the effect of air temperature on LAR. The relationship between leaf number and time was linear. When CD were used as a measure of time, LAR increased as mean temperature increased, while the reverse was true when GDD were used to measure time. Cabinet and field LARs were compared at a field mean temperature of 16.5 °C. Cabinet LARs were 0.021 leaves GDD−1 or 0.22 leaves CD−1 which were similar to those calculated in the field. The linear regression equation describing the relationship between LAR (leaves GDD−1) and mean cabinet temperature was used with field-measured daily mean temperatures and GDD to predict the number of leaves for field conditions. When observed number of leaves were plotted against predicted number of leaves, the resulting slope was not significantly different from one, indicating that the model developed in the growth cabinet can be used to predict LAR in the field. Key words: Leaf appearance rate, Brassica napus, phyllochron


1998 ◽  
Vol 25 (7) ◽  
pp. 829 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. D. Bonnett

Leaf appearance rate is a major determinant of canopy establishment, radiation interception and therefore yield. The effect of genotype on leaf appearance rate in sugarcane is largely unknown. Leaf appearance rate was recorded for the mainstems of pot grown sugarcane plants of nine commercial varieties, over 10 months in Townsville, Australia. Bi-phasic linear, polynomial and power-law models were fitted to data describing leaf appearance with thermal time. The bi-phasic model (previously used for sugarcane) had a single large change in phyllochron for which no biological explanation is apparent. Polynomials were less likely to predict leaf appearance accurately outside the range of fitted data. The power-law model gave a continuously increasing thermal time between the appearance of successive leaves (phyllochron) and was used to compare the varieties. An increasing phyllochron for the first 15 leaves could be explained, in part, by the increasing length of lamina each successive leaf had to grow through. However, an explanation for an increasing phyllochron throughout ontogeny has yet to be found. The rate of leaf appearance was significantly different between the varieties. After 5000˚Cd the number of leaves predicted to have appeared ranged from 35 to 46. These variety specific parameters make an important contribution to describing how different varieties produce leaf area.


2005 ◽  
Vol 35 (6) ◽  
pp. 1448-1450 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nereu Augusto Streck ◽  
Rogério Antonio Bellé ◽  
Edileusa Kersting da Rocha ◽  
Mariângela Schuh

Safflower may be an interesting option for the flower market, either as fresh or dried cut flower. Estimating the leaf appearance rate and the phyllochron (the time interval between the appearance of successive leaves) is important for calculating the number of emerged leaves (NL) on the plant, which is an excellent measure of plant development. The objective of this study was to estimate the leaf appearance rate and the phyllochron in safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.). An experiment was conducted in Santa Maria, RS, Brazil, inside an 8 x 15m plastic greenhouse. Sowing was on 03 October 2003 and emergence was on 08 October 2003. The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with three replications. The main stem NL was measured twice a week from 24 October 2003 to 15 November 2003 in four plants per replication. Daily growing degree days above a base temperature (5°C) and accumulated thermal time (TT) were calculated. The NL was linearly regressed against TT. The angular coefficient of the linear regression is the LAR (leaves/ °C day) and the phyllochron (°C days/leaf) was estimated by the inverse of the angular coefficient of the linear regression. The LAR was 0.0467 ± 0.0203 leaves/ °C day and the phyllochron was 25.5 ± 14.6°C days/leaf.


2013 ◽  
Vol 85 (1) ◽  
pp. 371-377 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marcos F Silva ◽  
Edson M. V Porto ◽  
Dorismar D Alves ◽  
Cláudio M.T Vitor ◽  
Ignacio Aspiazú

This study aims to evaluate the morphogenetic characteristics of three cultivars of Brachiaria brizantha subjected to nitrogen fertilization. The design was a randomized block in factorial arrangement 4x3; three cultivars of B. brizantha - Marandu, Piatã, Xaraés and four nitrogen levels - 0, 80, 160 and 240 kg/ha, with three replications. The experimental units consisted of plastic pots filled with 5 dm3 of soil. Thereupon the establishment fertilization, varieties were sowed directly in the pots, leaving, after thinning, five plants per pot. Forty-five days after planting, it was done a standardization cut at 10 cm tall. Nitrogen levels were distributed according to the treatments, divided in three applications. The morphogenetic characteristics were evaluated in three tillers per sampling unit and data were submitted to analysis of variance and regression. For all evaluated characteristics there was no interaction between factors cultivar and nitrogen levels, verifying only the effects of nitrogen on the variables leaf appearance rate and phyllochron. The dose 240 kg/ha of N corresponds to the greater leaf appearance rate. Cultivar Marandu shows the higher leaf blade: pseudostem and ratio of leaf elongation rate and elongation pseudostem, which favors higher forage quality.


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