Non-destructive leaf area estimation in Myrtus communis plants

G. Gugliuzza, G. Fascella, M.M. Mammano, M. Militello
Leaf area (LA) is an important biometrical parameter recorded for evaluating plant growth in field and greenhouse experiments. In the present study a LA estimation model was developed for myrtle (Myrtus communis L.) pot plants under different water regimes, using linear measurements of leaf length (L) and width (W). The aim of the work was to establish if a non-destructive LA model could be used to estimate plant leaf area and, if this model could be used as predictor of plant sub-optimal water availability condition. A different approach from those reported in literature was used. The total aerial part (all leaves) of two-year old potted plants of myrtle, were used to develop the model. LA and leaf dimensions were measured with an area meter. Frequency distributions of leaf dimensions were created through the L/W ratio. Frequency distributions provided evidence of leaf-shape polymorphism that greatly influenced the power of the model. Regression analyses of LA versus L and W showed several models that could be used for estimating the area of individual myrtle leaves, with significant differences among the models. A quadratic model having L as the independent variables (y=aL2+bL+c) provided the most accurate estimate (R2=0.92) of leaf area. Validation of the model was performed with the LA data measured using plants grown under different water regimes to evaluate the possibility of using the model to evaluate different treatment effects. Results showed that the correlation between measured and predicted areas was high (R2=0.92±0.1) in every case. The quadratic model developed in this study did not show evidence of the effect of different water regime treatments on total plant leaf area.
Gugliuzza, G., Fascella, G., Mammano, M.M. and Militello, M. (2015). Non-destructive leaf area estimation in Myrtus communis plants. Acta Hortic. 1104, 89-94
DOI: 10.17660/ActaHortic.2015.1104.14
https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.2015.1104.14
allometric model, regression curve, myrtle
English

Acta Horticulturae