The Effect of Temperature on the Growth of Cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.)

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
The growth of cocksfoot at 14°, 22°, and 26° C was measured at weekly intervals over a period of six weeks. Initially, the relative growth rates increased with increase in temperature, but during the final three weeks they were little different at all three temperatures. The reduction in relative growth rates with time at 22° and 26° were associated with increases in size which were partly reflected by reductions in the leaf-area ratios. It is also likely that at 26° changes in the photosynthetic capacity of leaves, perhaps associated with decreasing concentrations of mineral nutrients, contributed to the decreased relative growth rates. Leaf expansion and increase in cell numbers were estimated over two-day periods at temperatures ranging from 5° to 30° C. Leaf expansion increased with increase in temperature throughout this range; extrapolation suggested that it would cease at temperatures below 3° C. The optimum temperature for cell division appeared to be between 20° and 25°C. Different physiological processes appeared to be involved in the temperature responses of plants of different sizes and histories. With young plants these responses resulted in a large overall effect of temperature on the growth rate; with older plants of the same size there appeared to be several compensatory responses so that variation in temperature over an apprecaible range had little overall effect.

This publication has 3 references indexed in Scilit: