GROWTH OF VEGETATIVE PLANT ORGANS; THE RESULT OF INTERACTING ONTOGENETIC PATTERNS

In indeterminate growing crops (e.g. tomato, cucumber) the dynamic allocation of assimilates to fruits and vegetative organs has been successfully described on the basis of the Relative Sink Strength (RSS) concept.
The essence of this concept is that each organ has a potential to attract assimilates (sink strength) that can be expressed by its potential growth rate, that is the growth rate at non-limiting assimilate supply.
This characteristic sink strength is not a constant, but changes with development of the organ under consideration.
The share each organ receives from the total daily amount of assimilates available is the Relative Sink Strength, defined as the ratio of Sink Strength of the organ over Total Plant Sink Strength.
This simple, but useful concept dealing with dry matter distribution at the level of the whole plant, could have a wider application in plant morphogenesis.
Potential applications to the growth of individual organs of vegetative plant parts are discussed and consequences for studies of organ growth in relation to radiation and temperature considered.

II Workshop on Environmental Regulation of Plant Morphogenesis

H. Challa

model, assimilates, sink strength, leaf growth, morphogenesis, radiation, temperature

https://doi.org/10.17660/ActaHortic.1997.435.17