Tiller production and development in perennial ryegrass in relation to nitrogen use

The amount of soil nitrogen (N) available to perennial ryegrass (Lolium perenne L.) will influence the distribution of N within the plant. At low amounts of plant available N the relative proportion of N in the roots will be high. As under conditions of high N availability, the proportion of N in vegetative and reproductive tillers as well as the number of vegetative and reproductive tillers will increase. However, the correlation between plant N content and tiller production is not known. Therefore, a growth chamber experiment was performed to investigate this relationship in perennial ryegrass. The relation is important to better predict the effect of N application on tiller production. Plants were grown in nutrient solutions containing diminishing amounts of N over 36 days. At the end of the growth period, N and carbon (C) concentrations of the plant tissues, as well as the tiller production, were analyzed. Higher N concentrations were found in leaves than in roots. Depending on the N concentr...