A Model for Leaf Expansion in Cucumber

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Abstract
A mechanistic model of leaf growth and expansion is described. This involves photosynthesis, the synthesis and degradation of enzymatic machinery from carbon and nitrogen substrates, the import or export of these substrates, and finally, the synthesis of primary and secondary cell wall material. The latter is treated using a novel approach to give a natural limit to cell and leaf expansion, depending upon the relative amounts of primary and secondary wall material, which determine wall extensibility. Solutions are obtained to the model, which involves five state variables and 27 parameters, and the results are compared with and fitted to an extensive set of experimental data on the first leaf of the cucumber plant.