Predicting growth and development of pigeonpea: leaf area development

Relationships are developed that describe the processes of node production, leaf appearance and senescence, and leaf size in pigeonpea in relation to temperature, plant density and maturity type. The rate of node production u ntil flowering in relation to thermal time was found to be unaffected by se ason and plant density in the range of 4-33 plants m(-2). Maturity type did not affect the rate of node production on the main stem or the rare of app earance of leaves on the plant. The rare of senescence of main-stem nodes i n relation to thermal time was unaffected by plant density and growth durat ion. The functions developed in this paper can be used to predict the tempo ral changes in leaf area development in crop growth models. (C) 2001 Elsevi er Science B.V. All rights reserved.