Effect of Nitrogen Fertilization on the Carbohydrate Content of Coastal Bermudagrass (Cynodon dactylon, (L.), Pers.)1

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Abstract
This study relates the effect of applying nitrogen at 3 rates (0, 100, and 250 pounds per acre applied at 6‐week intervals) on the carbohydrate content of leaves, stems and stolons, and roots and rhizomes of Coastal bermudagrass. Plant tissues were analyzed for reducing (glucose and fructose) and nonreducing (sucrose) sugars and for fructosans every 2 weeks during the 1963 growing season.The reducing sugar content of leaves increased with increasing rates of fertilization. In stems and stolons, as well as in roots and rhizomes, no significant changes occurred in reducing sugar content throughout the growth season. In the leaves there were no significant differences in content of sucrose and fructosan due to fertilizer application, but in stems and stolons, as well as in rhizomes and roots, sucrose and fructosan content decreased with increasing fertilization.Bermudagrass fertilized at the high rate apparently retains most of the newly synthesized carbohydrate as reducing sugar in the leaves. The amount of carbohydrate translocated into rhizomes at the high nitrogen level is a small fraction of the total amount synthesized. During the active growth phase, sucrose may be equally as important a source of reserve for regrowth as fructosan.

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