ARS | Publication request: BELOW-GROUND CARBOHYDRATE ACCUMULATION OF RHIZOMATOUS BIRDSFOOT TREFOIL

Submitted to: Agronomy Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: November 1, 1998
Publication Date: N/A

Technical Abstract: New lines of birdsfoot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus L.) are unique because they produce rhizomes. Rhizomes may alter below-ground carbohydrate storage and affect management decisions based on carbohydrate reserves. Our objectives were to compare rhizomatous (RBFT) and non-rhizomatous (cv. Norcen) birdsfoot trefoil for differences in below-ground carbohydrate storage. Taproots from 20 plants of RBFT and Norcen were sampled from field plots every 14 d beginning in early July and ending in November of 1994 and 1995. Total nonstructural carbohydrates (TNC) from taproots of both cultivars and rhizomes of RBFT were determined by near infared refelectance spectroscopy. Taproots from both entries began to accumulate TNC in fall (1.5 to 2.6 g per kg TNC per day), but RBFT taproots consistently had 30 to 60 g per kg more TNC than Norcen. Total nonstructural carbohydrates in rhizomes increased from 170 g per kg in mid-September to 220 g per kg at the last harvest in November. Our results show RBFT stores more below-ground carbohydrate than does Norcen and this may be important for developing fall management strategies.