Differential Influences of Leaf Tip Trimming on Light Interception and Dry Matter Production in Tomato Dutch Cultivar Gourmet and Japanese Cultivar Momotaro York

Summary

To investigate the influence of morphological changes in individual leaves of tomato on light interception and dry matter (DM) production, we altered leaf shape by trimming leaflets of young or mature leaves of the Dutch cultivar Gourmet and the Japanese cultivar Momotaro York. Young leaves 5-cm long were trimmed of their first and second leaflets from the leaf apex. Mature leaves were similarly trimmed at ≥71 days after transplanting (DAT). The individual leaf area (LA) of intact ‘Momotaro York’ leaves was significantly larger than that of ‘Gourmet’. Light–photosynthesis curves of the cultivars were almost identical. Mature-trimmed plants of both cultivars had a smaller individual LA and a smaller leaf area index (LAI), and a greater light-extinction coefficient (LEC). Although there was