Effect of support diameter on growth and foraging behavior of Momordica charantia

Abstract

Abstract: Using the experimental ecological methods, the effects of different support diameters on growth and foraging behavior of Momordica charantia were investigated. The results showed that the changes of support diameters make unconspicuous effects on the development of internode, blade, petiole and tendril. The scramble of M. charantia is affected markedly by the diameter of support, and the plant scramble positively when the support diameter is less than8mm. The plants growing on external support with larger diameter have higher branching ratio, shorter stem, longer shoot, longer specific stem length and larger specific petiole length than those growing on the external support with small diameter. Correlation analysis indicate that internode length and petiole length are positively related to the degree of scramble significantly, but single leaf area, number of branches and specific petiole length are negatively related to the degree of scramble significantly. As an important resource to the climbing plants, the characters and conditions of support would affect plant growth and plant behavior significantly.

Key words: Cuscuta japonica, Parasitism, N content of hosts, Selection behavior, Secondary metabolites

CLC Number:

Q948.1

TAO Jianping, ZHONG Zhangcheng, HUANG Lin . Effect of support diameter on growth and foraging behavior of Momordica charantia[J]. cje, 2003, (1): 9-13.

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