Wplyw udzialu Lolium perenne w mieszankach z Trifolium repens na poczatkowy wzrost i rozwoj obu komponentow

The aim of the study was to determine some plant characteristics of perennial ryegrass and white clover at the initial stages of plant growth (pot experiment) as affected by the percentage of either component in the seed mixture. Another objective was to investigate the effect of the component percentage on the yields and specific makeup of the mixtures when grown on arable land (a four-year field trial). Three white clover/perennial ryegrass mixtures were compared: 75% clover + 25% ryegrass, 50% clover + 50% ryegrass, 25% clover + 75% ryegrass). Under controlled environment conditions it was found that as the percentage of ryegrass in the seeding mixture increased the plant height, number of shoots and leaves of that species and the weight of the mixture herbage were negatively affected. The negative effeet of the increased percentage of ryegrass was less manifest in clover plants which produced the lowest number of leaves in the combination involving 75% of the grass. With the rising percentage of ryegrass in the mixture there was an increased buildup of dry matter in the plants of both species. The percentage of components in the dry weight of mixture herbage obtained in the pot experiment was similar to that in the seeding mixture. Under field conditions different percentages of ryegrass seeds in the seeding mixture had no effect on the yields of mixtures and their botanical makeup. In the seeding year and the first production year perennial ryegrass was the dominant component of the dry herbage, white clover dominated in the second and the third production years. The abrupt decline of ryegrass in the mixture was due to winter kill at the end of the first and the beginning of the second production year. The large percentage (75%) of ryegrass in the mixture mitigated the impact of freezing losses and at the same time favoured regeneration of that species.