Mathematical Modeling to Estimation Leaf Area of Pimenta dioica from Linear Dimensions

The objective of this work was to obtain regression equations and to indicate the most appropriate from different mathematical models for the estimation of the leaf area of ​​ Allspice (Pimenta dioica) by non - destructive method. 500 leaves of plants located in the municipality of São Mateus, North of Espírito Santo State, Brazil, were collected, 400 of which were used to adjust the equations and 100 for validation. The length (L) along the main midrib, the maximum width (W), the product of the length with the width (LW) and the observed leaf area (OLA) were measured from all leaves. We fitted models of linear equations of first degree, quadratic and power, where OLA was the dependent variable in function of L, W and LW. From the 100 sheets intended for validation, and using the adjusted equations for each mathematical model, the estimated leaf area (ELA) was obtained. Subsequently, a simple linear regression was fitted for each model of the proposed equation in which ELA was the dependent variable and OLA the independent variable. The mean absolute error (MAE), the root mean square error (RMSE) and Willmott's index d also determined. The best fit had as selection criterion the non-significance of the comparative means of ELA and OLA, MAE and RMSE values ​​closer to zero and value of the coefficient of determination coefficient (R2) close to one. Thus, the power model (ELA = 0.7605(LW)0.9926, R2 = 0.9764, MAE = 1.0066, RMSE = 1.7759 and d = 0.9950) based on the product of length and width (LW) is the most appropriate for estimating the leaf area of ​​Pimenta dioica.