In Amaranthus tricolor the leaf structure included three layers of chlorenchyma on the vascular bundle periphery, namely, mesophyll cells (MSCs) with few chloroplasts, outer larger round bundle sheath cells (BSCs) with many chloroplasts in a centripetal position, and inner smaller BSCs with few chloroplasts around the vascular bundle cells. The ultra-thin sections showed that BSCs had abundant organelles, namely many large and round mitochondria with well-developed cristae in the cytoplasm. The chloroplasts in the BSCs were lens-like bodies, which seemed to be oval on cross sections. Granal and intergranal thylakoids were usually distinguished. Grana were stacked in parallel with prevailing plane of thylakoid lamellae. The chloroplasts in the MSCs appeared smaller than those in the BSCs and contained less stacked thylakoids but abundant peripheral reticulum. The ultra-thin sections of immunogold-labelled anti-ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate carboxylase/oxygenase (anti-RuBPCO) exhibited high density of RuBPCO labelling in the stroma region of chloroplasts of the BSCs. Some anti-RuBPCO immunogold particles were observed in the stromal region of MSCs chloroplasts. The anti-activase (A) immunogold-labelling indicated that RuBPCOA was mainly distributed in the stroma region of both BSCs and MSCs chloroplasts. From the chloroplast ultrastructure and localisation of RuBPCO and RuBPCOA we deduced that the photosynthetic carbon reduction cycle and the formation of assimilatory power function in both MSC and BSC chloroplasts of A. tricolor. and J. Hong ... [et al.].
There are significant differences in leaf life-span among evergreen sclerophyllous species and drought semideciduous species growing in the Mediterranean maquis. Cistus incamus, which has a leaf life-span of four-eight months, was characterised by the highest net photosynthetic rates (PN), while Quercus ilex and Phillyrea latifolia, which maintain their leaves two-three and two-four years, respectively, had a lower PN. The longer leaf life-span of the two evergreen sclerophyllous species may be justified to cover the high production costs of leaf protective structures such as cuticle, hairs, and sclereids: cuticle and hairs screen radiation penetrating into the more sensitive tissues, and sclereids have a light-guiding function. Q. ilex and P. latifolia have the highest leaf mass/area ratio (LMA = 209 g m-2) and a mesophyll leaf density (2065 cells per mm2 of leaf cross section area) about two times higher than C. incanus. In the typical evergreen sclerophyllous species the steepest leaf inclination (α = 56°) reduces 42 % of radiation absorption, resulting in a reduced physiological stress at leaf level, particularly in summer. C. incanus, because of its low leaf life-span, requires a lower leaf investment in leaf protective structures. It exhibits a drastic reduction of winter leaves just before summer drought, replacing them with smaller folded leaves. The lower leaf inclination (α = 44°) and the lower LMA (119 g m-2) of C. incanus complement photosynthetic performance. Water use efficiency (WUE) showed the same trend in Q. ilex, P. latifolia, and C. incanus, decreasing 60 % from spring to summer, due to the combined effects of decreased CO2 uptake and increased transpirational water loss. and L. Gratani, A. Bombelli.
Gas exchange and chlorophyll a fluorescence measurements of expanding and adult leaves of four plant species were compared under field conditions. The pioneer species (PS) tended to have thinner leaves with lower nitrogen content and higher stomatal density compared to forest species (FS). Expanding leaves featured lower photosynthetic pigment contents and gas exchange capacity than adult leaves consistent with an immature photosynthetic apparatus. At the time of maximum irradiance, sun-exposed leaves of both PS and FS showed alteration of initial, variable, and maximum fluorescence as well as their ratios indicating photoinhibition. However, leaves recovered to some extent at predawn, suggesting the activation of photoprotective mechanisms. Sun-exposed leaves had comparable responses to high irradiance.
Better logic is needed for predicting genetic and environmental effects on canopy leaf expansion and stem extension. We measured leaf area and intemode lengths and dry masses for 19 strains of Zea mays L., with mature leaf numbers ranging from 10 to 27, at a uniform population density. Similar measurements were made on plants growing in four different plant densities for one of the cultivars (Pioneer 3344). The number of the ear nodes correlated well with total leaf number. In generál, area per ear-node leaf increased up to 20 total leaves, with considerable variability among strains having roughly the same total leaf number. Other generál relationships were found between total leaf number and (a) the nodal position of the leaf with maximum area, as well as (h) the two positions above and below the ear node for 1/2 maximum area, (c) intemode lengths, and (d) intemode dry masses. Such information can be ušed for developing better maize production management models, as well as better selection methods for increased productivity.
For two growing seasons (2005 and 2006), leaves of grapevine cv. Cabernet-Sauvignon were collected at three growth stages (bunch closure, veraison, and ripeness) from 10-year-old vines grafted on 1103 Paulsen and SO4 rootstocks and subjected to three watering regimes in a commercial vineyard in central Greece. Leaf shape parameters (leaf area-LA, perimeter-Per, maximum midvein length-L, maximum width-W, and average radial-AR) were determined using an image analysis system. Leaf morphology was affected by sampling time but not by year, rootstock, or irrigation treatment. The rootstock×irrigation×sampling time interaction was significant for all the leaf shape parameters (LA, Per, L, W, and AR) and the means of the interaction were used to establish relationships between them. A highly significant linear function between L and LA could be used as a non-destructive LA prediction model for Cabernet-Sauvignon. Eleven models proposed for the non-destructive LA estimation in various grapevine cultivars were evaluated for their accuracy in predicting LA in this cultivar. For all the models, highly significant linear functions were found between calculated and measured LA. Based on r 2 and the mean square deviation (MSD), the model proposed for LA estimation in cv. Cencibel [LA = 0.587(L×W)] was the most appropriate. and J. T. Tsialtas, S. Koundouras, E. Zioziou.
An indirect method of leaf area measurement for Rizor sugar beet cultivar was tested. Leaves were sampled during two growing seasons in a Randomised Complete Block Design experiment. For 2002 samplings, leaf area [cm2] was linearly correlated with maximum leaf width [cm] using all leaf samples (r2 = 0.83, p < 0.001) or using the means of the 8 sampling occasions (r2 = 0.97, p < 0.001). Correlations between leaf area and leaf mid vein length [cm] were weaker (r2 = 0.75, p < 0.001 and r2 = 0.93, p < 0. 001, respectively). For 2003 samplings, the area estimated by the equations was highly correlated to the measured leaf area. and J. T. Tsialtas, N. Maslaris.
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. and E. Misle ... [et al.].
Simple, accurate, and non-destructive methods for determining leaf area (LA) of plants are important for many experimental comparisons. Determining the individual LA of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) involves measurements of leaf parameters such as length (L) and width (W), or some combinations of these parameters. Two field experiments were carried out during 2003 and 2004 to compare predictive equations of sunflower LAs using simple linear measurements. Regression analyses of LA vs. L and W revealed several equations that could be used for estimating the area of individual sunflower leaves. A linear equation having W2 as the independent variable provided the most accurate estimate (r 2 = 0.98, MSE = 985) of sunflower LA. Validation of the equation having W2 of leaves measured in the 2004 experiment showed that the correlation between calculated and measured areas was very high. and Y. Rouphael ... [et al.].
This study measured individual leaf area expansion rate and leaf net photosynthetic rate (PN) of meadow bromegrass (Bromus riparius Rehm.), smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.) and hybrid bromegrass (B. riparius × B. inermis). Smooth bromegrass expanded individual leaf area 1.5 times faster than meadow bromegrass and hybrid bromegrass. PN was highest in smooth bromegrass, intermediate in hybrid bromegrass, and lowest in meadow bromegrass. Rapid growth of meadow bromegrass following defoliation compared to smooth bromegrass and hybrid bromegrass could not be explained by higher rates of these measured characteristics. and B. Biligetu, B. Coulman
A versatile and inexpensive systém with a hand scanner was developed and evaluated for measuring leaf area. A BASIC programme was created for processing the image fíles and calculating the area of scanned objects. The accuracy was better than 1 % of the reference area and it fell only when the area/perimeter ratio was less than 0.3 or when the measured object size was smaller than 0.1 cm^.