The effect of light intensity after anthesis on dry matter distribution and seed yield of Lolium perenne L

Autor: J. W. Warringa, M. J. Marinissen
Rok vydání: 1996
Předmět:
Zdroj: Grass and Forage Science 51 (1996)
Grass and Forage Science, 51, 103-110
ISSN: 1365-2494
0142-5242
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2494.1996.tb02043.x
Popis: The effect of light intensity after onset of anthesis on dry matter distribution, water soluble carbohydrate (WSC) concentration and seed filling in Lolium perenne was investigated in a pot experiment. Spaced plants of five clones were brought to flowering and exposed to four light intensities (24%, 57%, 100%, 115% of natural light) from 7 days after onset of anthesis onwards. The two oldest flowering tillers (i.e. the main and the first tiller) were separated from the rest of the plant and dissected after a seed-filling period of 450°Cd (temperature sum counting from 7 days after onset of anthesis). Their stem dry weight and WSC concentration were reduced at the lowest light intensity. WSC amount was more reduced in the first, younger, tiller. Seed yield per ear of the main tiller was reduced by 14% because seed set and average seed weight were lower at the 24% light intensity. Seed yield and seed number per ear of the first tiller were lowered by 21% and 17%, respectively, at the 24% light intensity, but average seed weight was not. The relative contribution of the seeds to total tiller weight was about 20% and was similar for both tillers and all light intensities. WSC concentration and WSC amount in the stem + rachis were reduced only at 24% light in the main tiller and at 24% and 57% light in the first tiller. It is inferred that seed yield was not limited by assimilate availability, but by the ability of the seeds to utilize fully the abundantly available reserves in the stem. The tiller can support seed yield under a wide range of tight intensities.
Databáze: OpenAIRE