Modeling leaf appearance in cultivated rice and red rice

Abstract

The objective of this work was to simulate leaf appearance in cultivated rice genotypes and in red rice biotypes, by adapting the Wang and Engel model modified by Streck et al. Two experiments were conducted in Santa Maria, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, during 2004/2005 and 2005/2006 growing seasons. Cultivars IRGA 417 and EEA 406, one hybrid, and two red rice biotypes were used. The leaf appearance model was adjusted, using Haun Stage (HS) data from five sowing dates of 2004/2005 growing season, and the model evaluation was performed using HS data from three sowing dates of 2005/2006 growing season. A numerical experiment was also carried out using temperature data occurred during 2003/2004 and 2006/2007 growing seasons, and simulated HS of the cultivated rice genotypes was compared with the red rice biotypes. The model had a good performance, with a root mean square error usually less than one leaf. Main stem leaf emergence was greater in modern genotypes IRGA 417 and hybrid than in the old genotype EEA 406. Leaf emergence is different among distinct red rice biotypes.