Publication Date

1997

Description

Containerized plants of Perennial wild barley (Hordeum bulbosum) grown from corms and of Wild emmer wheat (Tritium diccocoides) grown from seeds, were grown in environmental conditions comparable to those encountered under field conditions. Both species were subjected to 3 defoliation frequencies ( once, twice and three times during the season) each at 3 different clipping heights (1, 2.5 and 5 cm above ground level ) plus a control treatment (10 treatments in all). Wild emmer wheat control plants had significantly higher cumulative total and reproductive biomass over all harvests than all clipped plants. Clipping height and frequency had no significant effect on cumulative vegetative biomass. Increased clipping frequency strongly reduced reproductive biomass and plants clipped at a height of 5 cm had a significantly larger reproductive biomass than plants clipped at 1 cm. In Wild perennial barley plants both the cumulative total and the reproductive biomass decreased significantly at low clipping height, and decreased with clipping frequency. Values of both parameters were lower in all clipped plants than in control plants. The cumulative vegetative biomass was not markedly affected either by clipping height or by frequency of clipping, only the most severely clipped plants having values lower than control plants.

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Biomass Partitioning in Grasses Subjected to Defoliation

Containerized plants of Perennial wild barley (Hordeum bulbosum) grown from corms and of Wild emmer wheat (Tritium diccocoides) grown from seeds, were grown in environmental conditions comparable to those encountered under field conditions. Both species were subjected to 3 defoliation frequencies ( once, twice and three times during the season) each at 3 different clipping heights (1, 2.5 and 5 cm above ground level ) plus a control treatment (10 treatments in all). Wild emmer wheat control plants had significantly higher cumulative total and reproductive biomass over all harvests than all clipped plants. Clipping height and frequency had no significant effect on cumulative vegetative biomass. Increased clipping frequency strongly reduced reproductive biomass and plants clipped at a height of 5 cm had a significantly larger reproductive biomass than plants clipped at 1 cm. In Wild perennial barley plants both the cumulative total and the reproductive biomass decreased significantly at low clipping height, and decreased with clipping frequency. Values of both parameters were lower in all clipped plants than in control plants. The cumulative vegetative biomass was not markedly affected either by clipping height or by frequency of clipping, only the most severely clipped plants having values lower than control plants.