COMPARATIVE LEAF DEVELOPMENT OF CONVENTIONAL AND SEMILEAFLESS PEAS (PISUM-SATIVUM)

Comparative leaf development of conventional (cv. Improved Laxton's Progress) and semileafless (cv. Curly) peas was studied three-dimensionally, from initiation to maturity. The pattern of initiation of leaf primordia, stipules, and the pairs of lateral leaflet and tendril primordia is the same for both cultivars. However, their respective developmental pathways diverge by the time four pairs of lateral primordia have formed. In the conventional cultivar, the basal lateral primordia become increasingly dorsiventral as they develop into leaflets. Distal lateral primordia retain a cylindrical form and develop into tendrils. In contrast, basal first-order lateral primordia of the semileafless cultivar retain a cylindrical form and initiate second-order primordia, first in pairs, then in an alternate pattern. These second-order primordia develop into tendrils. Distal lateral primordium initiation and development are the same in both cultivars. Macroscopic development was subdivided into three stages based on tendril function. Stage I is an elongation phase during which the coiling response is not yet exhibited. During stage II, the tendrils are thigmotropic and retain their capacity to elongate. By stage III the tendrils have completed coiling and they no longer respond to thigmotropic stimuli. Stage I lasts an average of 1.4 +/- 0.1 days in 'Improved Laxton's Progress' and 2.1 +/- 0.1 days in 'Curly' from emergence from the stipule. Stage II may last up to 8 days, with an average of 6.4 +/- 0.2 and 6.9 +/- 0.3 days for 'Improved Laxton's Progress' and 'Curly', respectively, under greenhouse conditions for both cultivars.