Relative Performance of Lespedeza Varieties under Different Managements 1

Morphological and reproductive responses of lespedeza, Lespedeza stipulacea . Maxim, and L. straita (Thunb.) Hook and Am., to two temperature regimes were studied in a greenhouse experiment prior to initiating field tests. Grown under a 9‐hour photoperiod, varieties varied in their response to temperature. Cool night temperatures ranging from 3.5 to 12C (38.3 to 53.6F) resulted in taller plants which required a longer period of tune to set seed. Four of the five varieties produced more seed per plant after exposure to cool‐night conditions than when exposed continuously to night temperatures ranging from 21 to 29C (69.8 to 84.2F). Six field experiments were conducted during a 3‐year period to evaluate yield responses of four varieties to different managements. Relative performance of varieties was little influenced by variations in seeding date, seeding rate, herbicide treatment of the established companion grass, or cutting management. It is concluded that management variables such as rates of seeding and growth in pure cluture or in grass association appear to be of less importance in variety comparisons than are such factors as date of planting and environmental effects at specific locations.