Whole-plant and Single-leaf Photosynthesis of Strawberry under Various Environmental Conditions

Abstract

Photosynthesis is a crucial process for the existence, development, and productivity of crops, which directly impacts the world food security (Amthor, 2000; Simkin, 2019). Hence, the photosynthesis of plants has been meticulously studied. One of the concerned research directions is to build plant growth models based on the photosynthesis process (Fourcaud et al., 2008; Wu et al., 2019; Amitrano et al., 2020). Therefore, to build accurate models, the photosynthetic measurement methods should be suitable and engender the most accurate results possible. Currently, two popular photosynthesis measurement methods are available which are, namely, the single-leaf measurement method and the whole-plant measurement method (for short, single-leaf, and whole-plant method, respectively). The application of the whole-plant method will overcome deviations in photosynthesis of plants introduced by differences in canopy structure, leaf ages, mutual shading, and leaf orientation (Lanoue et al., 2017; Nomura et al., 2020). The single-leaf method may not overcome those deviations without applying a proper practice. On the contrary, the advantage of the single-leaf method is its convenience and ease of measurement, and it can be flexibly moved in the measurement site. Therefore, in this study, we compare measurements of the whole-plant and singleleaf method on strawberry plants (Fragaria ananassa Duch.) grown under plant factory conditions to provide an overview of measurement methods for this plant species. The strawberry is a small herbaceous species with high economic values and convenient for the cultivation and measurement of photosynthesis.