Vineyard leaf area is a key determinant of grape characteristics and wine quality. As is frequently the case in agriculture, available ground-based leaf area measurements employed by growers are not well suited to larger area mapping. In this study, IKONOS high spatial resolution, multispectral satellite imagery was used to map leaf area throughout two commercial wine grape vineyards (approxima...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS In tropical lowland rain forest (TLRF) the leaves of most monocots differ from those of most dicots in two ways that may reduce attack by herbivores. Firstly, they are tougher. Secondly, the immature leaves are tightly folded or rolled until 50-100 % of their final length. It was hypothesized that (a) losses of leaf area to herbivorous invertebrates are generally greatest du...

The effect of leaf age on photosynthetic capacity, a critical parameter in the theory of optimal leaf longevity, was studied for two tropical pioneer tree species, Cecropia longipes and Urera caracasana, in a seasonally dry forest in Panama. These species continuously produce short-lived leaves (74 and 93 d, respectively) during the rainy season (May-December) on orthotropic branches. However, ...

[1] Leaf area index is an important input for many climate and carbon models. The widely used leaf area products derived from satellite-observed surface reflectances contain substantial erratic fluctuations in time due to inadequate atmospheric corrections and observational and retrieval uncertainties. These fluctuations are inconsistent with the seasonal dynamics of leaf area, known to be grad...

BACKGROUND Elevated tropospheric ozone severely affects not only yield but also the morphology, structure and physiological functions of plants. Because of concerns regarding the potential environmental risk of transgenic crops, it is important to monitor changes in transgenic insect-resistant rice under the projected high tropospheric ozone before its commercial release. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPA...

Salt tolerance of higher plants is determined by a complex set of traits, the timing and rate of evolution of which are largely unknown. We compared the salt tolerance of cultivars of sugar beet and their ancestor, sea beet, in hydroponic studies and evaluated whether traditional domestication and more recent breeding have changed salt tolerance of the cultivars relative to their ancestor. Our ...

A major component in a crop growth model is leaf area development, which has a major influence on photosynthesis and transpiration. The knowledge about the leaf area development of wheat especially in high temperature environments is incomplete. The aim of this study was to quantify leaf production and senescence of 15 spring wheat cultivars. Field experiments were conducted at the research far...

Crop models need accurate simulation of the interdependent processes of crop development and leaf area production. Crop development proceeds according to genotype characteristics and environmental influences, specifically temperature and photoperiod. It can be partly described by thermal requirements for development intervals and coefficients that describe genotype adaptation. The objectives of...

Relationships between net plant CO(2) exchange rate (CER) and canopy development were examined in ;jubilee' tomato over the initial 4 weeks of vegetative growth. A comparison was made between two plant groups that were alternatively exposed to 200 or 800 microeinsteins per square meter per second midday irradiation to establish a differential in net CER. Plants exposed to higher irradiation dem...

Leaf nutrition and photosynthetic performance of sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) were compared between two sugar maple stands in northwestern Vermont with contrasting health conditions as indicated by annual basal area growth, degree of crown dieback, and foliar appearance. Observations made during the diurnal cycle of both stands showed no apparent leaf water stress. In both stands, leaves...