Apical dominance in the rhizome of Agropyron repens: the influence of water stress on bud activity

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Abstract
Experiments conducted under both field and growth-chamber conditions showed that buds on the rhizome of Agropyron repens L. Beauv. could be released from inhibition by a localized reduction of water stress, e.g. by enclosing the rhizomes in moist vermiculite. This response was obtained even at low N levels, a fact which may be due partly to the relatively low N requirement of buds developing as rhizomes as compared with those developing as shoots. The induced growth of the lateral buds was correlated with a reduction or complete inhibition of apical growth of the parent rhizome or with its transition from rhizome to shoot development. Continuous root removal reduced the bud response to high humidity in N-deficient plants but had relatively little effect at a higher N level. In water-stressed rhizomes the apparent increase of bud inhibition with distance from the apex, a characteristic feature of apical dominance, was correlated with the water content of the rhizome, which was greatest at the apex and decreased basipetally. It is postulated that this gradient of decreasing rhizome water content may be causally related to the increasing inhibition of bud activity.

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