| Popis: |
In past, yelow rattle (Rhinanthus minor) was considered as a weed in grasslands due to grass yields reduction and rapid loss of its forage quality. But today it is valued for its ability to reduce the competitiveness of aggressive species of grasses, allowing restoration of species-rich grasslands. In dry and warm conditions in southern Moravia there was tested the suitability of different grasses to serve as host of Rhinanthus minor. The impact of irrigation was also assessed in drought conditions during spring growth on the production of aboveground biomass hemiparasitic plants and their hosts. The last part of the experiment was a test hydrophobicity and infiltration capacity of soils. Field experiment was established in Žabčice experimental station of Mendel University in Brno. To determine the ability of Rhinanthus minor to parasite on various grasses red fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass and tall fescue were chosen. Irrigation significantly increased the number of plants and biomass of Rhinanthus. The largest nu-mber of plants and the highest biomass of Rhinanthus minor was found on irrigated plots with tall fescue. On the other hand, the smallest number of plants and the biomass were on the plots with red fescue. These differences are probably related to the ability of the host plant to cope with adverse environmental conditions. The experiment results in finding that red fescue is not a suitable host for Rhi-nanthus minor in dry and warm conditions in southern Moravia. On the contrary, it se-ems that the perfect hosts are deeply rooted tall fescue and clonal (rhizomatous) smooth stalked meadow grass. |
