Leaf anatomy, plant growth traits and leaf ecological stoichiometry were analyzed in 8 pineapple cultivars (Gold diamond, Red skin, Red fragrant, Hand torn, Gold, Bali, Watermelon, and Mango) in a common garden in Jiangmen, Guangdong, China. The purpose was to explore the differentiation of functional traits between different pineapple cultivars, and the relationships between leaf ecological stoichiometry and plant growth as well as the plant nutrient limitation. The results showed that leaf stomatal density was the highest in the middle of leaves in most pineapple cultivars, and leaf thickness increased from the upper position to the lower position. There were significant differences in stomatal density, guard cell length, leaf thickness and anatomical proportion in different leaf positions within the same cultivar or in the same leaf position between different pineapple cultivars. Different pineapple cultivars differed in the leaf C, N, P and K content. Pineapple plants required large amount of K, as leaf K content was much higher than N and P content. Leaf N and P content in pineapples were lower than those in grassland plants in China. The leaf content of N and P of pineapple was higher than that of the plants in grasslands and in farmland ecosystems in China, while the leaf content of C, C∶N and C∶P were higher than those of the plants in grasslands and in farmland ecosystems in China, indicating that pineapple plant is reducing the dependence on nutrients through special leaf morphological or histological structure, agreement with the "Demand reduction strategy". Moreover, leaf C content, C∶P and N∶P were significantly negatively correlated with total leaf biomass, which was consistent with the growth rate hypothesis. Ranging from 6.40 to 19.07 across all pineapple cultivars, leaf N∶P values indicated that plant growth of Golden and Mango pineapples were limited by P; Golden diamond, Red skin, Hand torn and Watermelon pineapples were restricted by N, while Red fragrant and Bali pineapples were co-limited by N and P. This study twould provides a theoretical foundation for the cultivar selection and the agricultural management of pineapples.
| 科 Family | 属数 Number of genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) | 属 Genus | 种数 Number of species | 占总种数比例 Percentage of total species (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 鹅膏菌科Amanitaceae | 2 | 11 | 5.26 | 鹅膏菌属 Amanita | 10 | 4.78 |
| 小菇科 Mycenaceae | 2 | 12 | 5.74 | 丝盖伞属 Inocybe | 5 | 2.39 |
| 多孔菌科 Polyporaceae | 8 | 14 | 6.70 | 蜡蘑属 Laccaria | 5 | 2.39 |
| 红菇科 Russulaceae | 3 | 23 | 11.00 | 小皮伞属 Marasmius | 6 | 2.87 |
| 小菇属 Mycena | 11 | 5.26 | ||||
| 光柄菇属 Pluteus | 5 | 2.39 | ||||
| 红菇属 Russula | 17 | 8.13 | ||||
| 栓菌属 Trametes | 5 | 2.39 |