Nondestructive estimation of leaf area in sour passion fruit seedlings using regression models

Authors

  • João Pedro Brunelli Souza Department of Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, São Mateus, ES, Brazil https://orcid.org/0009-0009-1252-1704
  • Édlen dos Santos Bonelá Department of Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, São Mateus, ES, Brazil https://orcid.org/0009-0000-8935-9826
  • Letícia Galvão Morais Department of Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, São Mateus, ES, Brazil https://orcid.org/0009-0008-6837-7425
  • Militino Paiva Carrafa Department of Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, São Mateus, ES, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6139-1290
  • Isaias dos Santos Orgino Department of Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, São Mateus, ES, Brazil https://orcid.org/0009-0007-4101-3712
  • Lucas Araujo de Souza Department of Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, São Mateus, ES, Brazil https://orcid.org/0009-0001-5530-7777
  • Jalille Amim Altoé Department of Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, São Mateus, ES, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1433-3709
  • Edilson Romais Schmildt Department of Agricultural and Biological Sciences, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo, São Mateus, ES, Brazil https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3457-7997

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1590/1983-21252026v3912803rc

Keywords:

Passiflora edulis Sims f. flavicarpa O. Degener × Passiflora edulis Sims f. edulis 'BRS Rubi do Cerrado'. Mathematical models. Nondestructive methods. Equation fitting.

Abstract

Leaf area evaluation is essential for assessing plant photosynthetic efficiency, growth, dry matter accumulation, and crop yield potential. This study proposes equations to accurately estimate the leaf area of sour passion fruit seedlings ('BRS Rubi do Cerrado'). The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with four treatments, five replications, and 18 plants per plot, totaling 360 plants. Different substrate treatments were used to increase the variability of leaf dimensions and improve the robustness of the fitted equations. Treatments consisted of 100% commercial substrate (T1), 75% commercial substrate + 25% soil (T2), 50% commercial substrate + 50% soil (T3), and 25% commercial substrate + 75% soil (T4). Observed leaf area (OLA), length (LL), and width (LW) were evaluated 60 days after sowing in 1,561 leaves from plants in four replications to estimate leaf area equations as a function of LL, LW, and LL × LW using simple linear, power, and exponential models. LL², LW², and (LL × LW)² were also used for the simple linear model. The equations were validated using data from the 340 leaves of the fifth replication. Observed leaf area was determined from digital images processed using ImageJ® software. Substrate type did not affect estimated leaf area (ELA) in passion fruit seedlings, which could be adequately obtained by the nondestructive method using the equations ELA = 0.0913 + 0.7248 (LL × LW) and ELA = 0.7525 (LL × LW)0.9906.

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Published

30-06-2026

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Scientific Article