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THE EFFECT OF CUTTING TIMOTHY ( PHLEUM PRATENSE L.) GROWN FOR PRODUCTION OF SEED
Author(s) -
Lambert D. A.
Publication year - 1966
Publication title -
grass and forage science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.716
H-Index - 56
eISSN - 1365-2494
pISSN - 0142-5242
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2494.1966.tb00474.x
Subject(s) - tiller (botany) , interception , biology , agronomy , primordium , ecology , biochemistry , gene
An experiment is described in which timothy, grown for production of seed, was cut once annually on dates ranging from 23 October to 24 May. New tillers in selected plants were labelled at monthly intervals during autumn and winter for 2 years, to determine the pattern of production of tillers and to assess the reproductive development of categories of tillers. The majority of tillers were produced in autumn, but production was continuous throughout the winter. There was a big increase from the first to the second year in the total number of tillers produced, but neither the pattern nor amount of tiller production was affected by cutting. The % of fertile tillers was highest in the oldest tillers, and was affected little by the increase in the number of tillers from the first to the second year; cutting had little effect on the % fertility except where floral primordia were removed by the cut on 24 May. In all treatments at least 90% of the ears at harvest were produced by tillers initiated the previous autumn. The penetration of light to the base of the plants was increased considerably by cutting, but it is concluded that interception of light by the whole plant is more beneficial than an increase in the penetration of light into the plant and a concomitant reduction in the total interception of light by the plant.