EAR‐BEARING CAPACITY OF TILLERS ARISING AT DIFFERENT TIMES IN HERBAGE GRASSES GROWN FOR SEED

Three experiments are described, two with S215 meadow fescue and one with S37 cocksfoot, all grown for seed, during which all new tillers, soon after their appearance, were labelled at intervals of a month—a total of nearly 12,000 tillers. Whatever the first date of observation, the earliest tillers were always found to have contributed the largest proportion of the ears present at harvest. In one experiment applied nitrogen caused an increase in the number of tillers and ears, without however affecting the percentage contribution of the earliest tillers to the final crop of ears. The importance of the autumn period of tillering is stressed.