GROWTH ANALYSIS OF THE SEEDLINGS OF BALSA, OCHROMA LAGOPUS

Abstract
SUMMARY: In a glasshouse near Oxford, under conditions similar to a large gap in lowland tropical rain forest, young seedlings of balsa, Ochroma lagopus Swartz, had an estimated unit leaf rate (net assimilation rate) of 33 g m−2 week−1 compared to 44 g m−1 week−1 for Helianthus annuus. The energy conversion efficiency was 05 and 0–6 % of incident radiation 300 to 3000 ran respectively.Unit leaf rates of woody plants have almost always been found to be lower than those of Helianthus, when both are grown side by side. The lowest rates relative to Helianthus are in Agathis, the only shade‐tolerant genus yet examined.

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