Effect of couch grass and grass cultivars on competition between timothy and red clover.
Abstract
Phleum pratense cv. Vanadis, Saga and Alma were grown with Trifolium pratense in an outdoor pot experiment in replacement series with or without the addition of Agropyron [Elymus] repens. Mean RGR of the P. pratense cv. did not differ significantly (0.09, 0.13 and 0.11 g/g day for above-ground, below-ground and total DM, resp.). 1000 seed wt. were 0.63, 0.52 and 0.40 g for cv. Saga, Vanadis and Alma, resp. Cv. Vanadis and Alma had a greater shoot:root ratio than cv. Saga. Cv. Alma had a greater tiller number than the other cv. and cv. Vanadis had a greater proportion of fertile tillers. E. repens competed with both P. pratense and T. repens when either sp. was grown in pure stands; when added to a mixture of the spp. E. repens competed only with P. pratense and increased the competitive ability of red clover against P. pratense.