ISHS Acta Horticulturae 633: XXVI International Horticultural Congress: Protected Cultivation 2002: In Search of Structures, Systems and Plant Materials for Sustainable Greenhouse Production
THE OPTIMAL LEAF AREA INDEX FOR CUCUMBER PHOTOSYNTHESIS AND PRODUCTION IN PLASTIC GREENHOUSE |
| Authors: | S. Xiaolei, W. Zhifeng |
| Keywords: | cucumber, leaf area index, photosynthetic rate, plastic greenhouse, yield |
| Abstract:
Cucumber vines are always trellised and the removal of some leaves from the plants has become a typical management in greenhouse production in China. A reasonable leaf area index (LAI) is critical to maintain high photosynthetic rates and yield. In order to optimize LAI for greenhouse cucumber, we employed Cucumis saticus var. Luhuanggua No.10, a greenhouse type, in a plastic greenhouse in Jinan, Shandong Province, China, and designed four treatments by keeping 7, 10, 13, 16 fully-expanded leaves counting from the top. No leaves were removed from plants serving as controls. The number of leaves kept was negatively correlated with the average photosynthetic rate of a single plant among the treatments. When the number of leaves kept was less than 13, the LAI was less than 3. In this case, although the average photosynthetic rate of a single leaf was high, the assimilation rate of the whole plant was low, which led to fruit aborting and low yield. However, when the number of leaves kept was more than 16, LAI was more than 3.5 which also resulted in low assimilation rate for the whole plant and low yield. It was concluded that vines with 13-16 leaves each would have a LAI between 3-3.5, which would capture more solar radiation, maintain an optimal assimilation rate for the whole plant, and have a higher yield. The changes of photosynthetic rate for a single leaf and the whole plant, fruit set, yield per vine and per unit leaf area were characterized. The optimal LAI for cucumber production in plastic greenhouses was discussed. | |
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