Fig. 5.

Simulated distribution of raindrop interception within cultivar mixture canopies as a function of vertical position of leaf levels within the canopy. Leaf area index (LAI) corresponds to leaf area per m² of ground. This graph shows the percentage of total incoming raindrops intercepted per leaf area, by a determined leaf layer as a function of leaf area located above the leaf layer. Points correspond to simulations involving changes in cultivar height within each treatment but with unchanged LAI. Each point corresponds to one leaf layer of one cultivar in one simulation. Leaf 1 (L1) corresponds to the top leaf or flag leaf. The lines correspond to a fitted model. The dotted line corresponds to a fitted model: log(drops) = 14.0 − 0.5 × LAIa (R² = 0.79), where ‘drops’ corresponds to the number of intercepted raindrops per leaf area and ‘LAIa’ the canopy LAI located above the concerned leaf layer. The solid line is an inverse function: 1/drops = 3.72 + 5.12 × LAIa (R² = 0.92).