Quantifying the importance of a realistic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) leaflet shape for 3-D light modelling.

Background And Aims: Leaflet shapes of tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum) have been reduced to simple geometric shapes in previous functional-structural plant models (FSPMs) in order to facilitate measurements and reduce the time required to reconstruct the plant virtually. The level of error that such simplifications introduce remains unaddressed. This study therefore aims to quantify the modelling error associated with simplifying leaflet shapes.