Competition between perennial ryegrass, meadow fescue and their natural hybrid: variation in growth rates and in the proportion of each species with time.
Abstract
The growth rates of Festuca pratensis (S215), Lolium perenne and their triploid hybrid, F. loliaceum, were compared. The plants were grown singly and under competitive conditions under "hay" and "grazing" management. Under isolated conditions the hybrid grew fastest during midsummer while the parental types grew more rapidly in autumn and early winter. Under competitive conditions similar results were obtained for midsummer but in autumn and winter the parental species did not grow so fast as the hybrid.