Abstract
As large-scale sago palm plantations expand, the study of the sago palm leaf area will assume increasing importance to manage the optimum density in sago plantations. In order to calculate the specific leaf area (SLA), which is one of the simple leaf area features, ten spineless-type palms at different phenological stages representing the entire life cycle of sago palm were selected. The analyses consisted of the calculation of the specific leaf area of individual leaves (SLAL) and whole plants (SLAP). The results showed that the SLAL varied with the leaf number within a phenological stage without a consistent trend. However, the average SLAL based on the leaf number showed a slight decreasing trend from younger to older leaves. The SLAP also showed a decreasing trend from younger plants to older plants, which satisfactorily fitted a linear regression model.