Nondestructive estimation of anthocyanin content in autumn sugar maple leaves

A field-portable tool for nondestructive foliar anthocyanin content estimation would be beneficial to researchers in many areas of plant science. An existing commercial chlorophyll content meter was modified to measure an index of anthocyanin content. The ability of the experimental anthocyanin meter (ACM) to estimate total extractable anthocyanin content was tested in sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) leaves representing several subjective color categories collected from a variety of field sites in northwestern Vermont on several dates in Autumn 2003. Overall, there was a significant linear relationship between anthocyanin content index (ACI) and total extractable anthocyanin content (r(2) = 0.872, P < 0.001). Therefore, the ACM appears to be an effective tool for estimation of relative anthocyanin content in large samples of autumn sugar maple leaves.