Measuring Tobacco Leaf Area by Numerical Integration of Asymptotic Regression Equations

Abstract

The surface areas of tobacco leaves are usually estimated according to the relationship A = bLW, where b is some proportionality constant relating area (A) to the product of length (L) and width (W). However, when this equation is applied to estimate areas of leaves of different ages and genotypes and from different stalk positions and environments, there are some problems determining the new b values. The Automatic Area Meter has limitations to measure areas because the stain on leaves should be related with the error term and there are many complicated priming procedures to measure tobacco leaf area nondestructively in the field. Therefore, a new technique was developed to easily and more accurately estimate the area of tobacco leaves. The technique includes describing the outline of a leaf with asymptotic regression curves. Those curves are then numerically integrated to obtain the leaf area estimate.