ISHS Acta Horticulturae 479: IX International Asparagus Symposium
CLADOPHYLL CHARACTERISTICS AS POSSIBLE CONTRIBUTORS TO GENETIC VARIATION IN ASPARAGUS FERN PHOTOSYNTHETIC CAPACITY |
| Authors: | M.J. Faville, T.G.A. Green, W.B. Silvester, W.A. Jermyn |
| Abstract:
To investigate the basis of genetic variation in the rate of fern photosynthesis amongst three asparagus cultivars, analyses of biochemical components associated with photosynthesis were performed and measurements of cladophyll thickness and volume were made. Fern nitrogen, chlorophyll, soluble sugar and soluble protein contents, expressed per unit area, co-varied with Asat (light-saturated rate of photosynthesis). Cladophyll thickness and, consequently, the ratio of cladophyll volume: area was also positively associated with Asat. Expressed on the basis of cladophyll volume, concentrations of biochemical components were, more uniform between the three cultivars. Increasing cladophyll thickness, due to an increase in the thickness of the mesophyll layer, had the effect of ‘packing’ more biochemical components of photosynthesis into a given surface area. This contributed, in part, to a higher Asat (expressed per unit area). | |
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