MORPHOLOGICAL FACTORS RELATED TO SEEDLING WINTER INJURY IN THREE PERENNIAL GRASSES

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Abstract
Relationships between seedling growth and winter injury were investigated in crested wheatgrass (Agropyron desertorum (Fisch.) Schult.), intermediate (pubescent) wheatgrass (Agropyron intermedium subsp. trichophorum (Link) Reichtb. ex Hegi), and Russian wild ryegrass (Elymus junceus Fisch.). Field plantings were made on five dates between late August and mid-October. Growth characteristics were measured on individually marked plants in November, and winter tissue damage was estimated the following April. Number of leaves, plant height, seedling weight, and leaf area significantly (P <.01) affected susceptibility to winter injury in all three species. As plant size increased, winter damage decreased. This inverse relationship was readily measured for all morphological variables studied, but it was most easily quantified by counting the number of leaves.