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Performance of morphologically diverse orchardgrass clones in spaced and sward plantings
Author(s) -
BUXTON D. R.,
LENTZ E. M.
Publication year - 1993
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.1365-2494.1993.tb01867.x
Subject(s) - dactylis glomerata , biology , agronomy , inflorescence , forage , propagule , anthesis , vegetative reproduction , botany , poaceae , cultivar
This study was conducted to determine effects and interactions of plant density on digestibility and plant morphology of diverse orchardgrass ( Dactylis glomerata L.) clones. Propagules of ten orchardgrass clones with contrasting morphology from two maturity groups (inflorescence emergence differed by 8d) were evaluated in sward (0·15‐m centres) and spaced (0·60‐m centres) plantings. Plants were harvested from spring growth on a common date near anthesis and from summer growth when about 5 weeks of forage growth had accumulated. The plants were separated into morphological parts before measuring their size and in vitro digestible dry matter (IVDDM). There were few plant density × orchardgrass clone interactions, and correlation coefficients of clones grown at the two plant densities generally were high (e.g. 0·87 in spring and 0·67 in summer for IVDDM of total herbage). Plant density had little effect on morphology of leaf blades from reproductive tillers, but leaf blades of vegetative tillers were 12% (spring) and 22% (summer) longer from sward than from spaced plantings. Moreover, reproductive tillers were 26% taller in sward than in spaced plantings. Also, leaf blades of vegetative tillers in spring growth were more than twice as long, of similar width and 65% thicker than leaf blades from reproductive tillers. Because divergent genotypes respond similarly to plant density, it is concluded that observations taken in spaced plantings of orchardgrass can be used to make inferences about relative differences in sward plantings for the traits studied.