Early Development of Johnsongrass

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Abstract
Tillering, flowering, and rhizome formation of johnsongrass(Sorghum halepense(L.) Pers.) started approximately 2 months after planting seeds or single-node rhizome fragments in the warm season. The minimum temperature for rhizome formation was between 15 and 20 C. Inflorescences were produced only from May to November. No causal relationship was found between flowering and rhizome formation. The bud activity of new rhizomes, as assessed by sprouting of single-node fragments, ranged between 48 and 100%. Sprouting was nil at 10 C, slow below 20 C, and maximum at 28 C. Seed germination required a temperature about 10 C higher than rhizome sprouting. While the initial leaf production of seedlings was more rapid than on plants produced from rhizomes, other differences in growth and development between seedlings and rhizome plants were of only limited practical significance.