Fig. 3

Leakage quantification. An oven dried ear with a developed area of 43.2 cm² was inserted in the chamber which was then flushed with various CO₂ concentrations and flow rates. Leakage modified CO₂ concentration in the chamber, and the difference with the set CO₂ concentrations resulted in an apparent net photosynthesis (a). The later was corrected according to Eq. (1) with a diffusion coefficient k = 0.45: the corrected net photosynthesis (b) was nil at any CO₂ concentration and flow rate. Values are the average ± standard deviation of six measurements