Modeling individual leaf area of basil (Ocimum basilicum) using different methods

Leaf area (LA) is a valuable key for plant physiological studies, therefore accurate and simple models for LA determination are important for many experimental comparisons. A greenhouse experiment was conducted from October 2009 to February 2010 in two basil cultivars (Purple Ruffles and Genovese) to estimate LA, leaf dry weight (DW), leaf fresh weight (DW) and leaf dimensions (width-W and length-L). The aim of the work was to establish a non-destructive model of leaf are estimation. Regression analyses of LA versus FW, DW, L and W revealed several models that could be used for estimating the area of individual basil leaves. Among the models, one based on the sum of dimension squares was the most accurate for Genovese [LA = 0.209 (L2 + W2) + 0.25, R2 = 0.895, RMSE = 0.794 and while the product of dimension squares was the most suitable for Purple Ruffles [LA=0.013 (L2W 2) +4.963 R2= 0.817, RMSE = 1.170].