Canopy and Root Development of Crested Wheatgrass in Relation to the Quantity and Time of Nitrogen Application

Authors: Ahmet GÖKKUŞ, Ali KOÇ

Abstract: A study was conducted in the pastures of the College of Agriculture in Erzurum for seven years starting in 1986 in order to investigate the effect of seasonal (fall and spring) N application (0, 40, 80 and 120 kg/ha) on the growth of crested wheatgrass. This experiment presented data concerning the canopy and root growth of crested wheatgrass in 1993. Nitrogen application in both fall and spring increased shoot and root weight but decreased the root/shoot ratio and vegetative shoots. Reproductive shoots and the total shoot number of also decreased. Shoot number was less affected in the fall than in the spring fertilization. The fall application of N did not affect stem and leaf rates but the spring application decreased the stem rate and increased the leaf rate though it did not affect then spike ratio. The fall application on the other hand, increased spike rates, but not stem and leaf rates. Nitrogen fertilization generally increased the protein content. Nitrogen uptake increased significantly with higher N doses (e.g. 1.38 g/m2 in the control, compared with 13.62 g/m2 in 120 kg N/da). However, shoot and root N use efficiency decreased as N applied increased.

Keywords: