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Effects of Root Temperature on the Growth and Nitrogen Fixation of Trifolium semipilosum and Trifolium repens

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 October 2008

R. A. Date  and
R. J. Roughley
R. A. Date
Affiliation:
CSIRO, Division of Tropical Crops and Pastures, 306 Carmody Road, St Lucia, Qld 4067Australia
R. J. Roughley
Affiliation:
NSW Department of Agriculture, Horticultural Research Station, PO Box 720, Gosford, NSW 2250, Australia
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Summary

Changes in plant dry weight and nitrogen content of Trifolium semipilosum cv. Safari and T. repens cv. Grasslands Huia were monitored when the root systems of effectively nodulated 28-day-old plants were exposed to a range of constant and diurnal temperatures for 21 days. Nitrogen fixation was more sensitive to high root temperatures than was dry weight accumulation, and T. semipilosum was relatively more tolerant of high root temperatures than T. repens for both dry weight and nitrogen content. The optimum temperatures for dry weight yield and nitrogen fixation (≡nitrogen content) were similar (21–23°C) for both species.

Our data suggest that growth and nitrogen fixation in T. semipilosum are more tolerant of short-term exposure to increase in root temperature than in T. repens. In addition, both species accumulated more dry matter and fixed more nitrogen when night temperatures were reduced from either 30 or 35°C to 25°C. The increase was greater with T. semipilosum and may be a major factor in its adaptation to the humid subtropics and cooler (elevated) tropics.

Type
Research Article
Information
Experimental Agriculture , Volume 22 , Issue 2 , April 1986 , pp. 133 - 147
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1986

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References

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