Tillers are important but not counted as leaves. A leaf should be counted as soon as it emerges, but may be labeled as early, mid or full leaf. The early leaf stage is when it begins to emerge, the full stage is just before the next leaf emerges. How to Identify Weed Resistance Avoiding Weed Resistance Resistance Grouping Tillers, or stools, are the secondary shoots of a grass plant. The first tiller emerges from the axil of the first leaf, the second just above the second leaf and so on.
Tillers generally appear at the three to four leaf stage.
Be sure to identify tillers, and count only leaves on the primary shoot. As well, do not remove any leaves from the main shoot when separating the tillers. These are the seed leaves which usually emerge above ground. On some plants, such as fababeans, lentils and peas, they stay below the soil surface. Cotyledons are not true leaves and are not counted when determining leaf number.