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Title: COMPARATIVE YIELD OF YOUNG AND OLD STANDS OF EASTERN GAMAGRASS ON A RESTRICTED SOIL

Author
item Krizek, Donald
item Ritchie, Jerry
item Sadeghi, Ali
item Camp, Mary

Submitted to: Agronomy Abstracts
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 10/23/2001
Publication Date: 10/23/2001
Citation: KRIZEK, D.T., RITCHIE, J.C., SADEGHI, A.M., CAMP, M.J. COMPARATIVE YIELD OF YOUNG AND OLD STANDS OF EASTERN GAMAGRASS ON A RESTRICTED SOIL. AGRONOMY ABSTRACTS. 2001.

Interpretive Summary: NONE REQUIRED

Technical Abstract: A two-year study was conducted during 1999 and 2000 to determine the comparative yield of young and old stands of eastern gamagrass [Tripsacum dactyloides (L.) L.], cv. 'Pete' grown on an acid (pH 4.5), compact soil at the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center. The young stand was seeded in May 1999 and the old stand was seeded in 1996. Plants were harvested on August 13, 1999, June 8, 2000, and August 30, 2000. The data were analyzed as a two-factor general linear model using PROC MIXED (SAS Institute) with age and time as the factors. A comparison of summer yields (August 1999 and August 2000) showed a significant interaction between age and time due to changes in the means for young plants in the two years. The mean for young plants harvested in August 1999 was lower than that for old plants (1.3 vs. 5.2 Mg/ha)(as expected since the young stand was only three months old) while in August 2000 we observed that young plants out yielded old plants (7.4 vs. 4.9 Mg/ha). A comparison of yields taken during spring and summer 2000 indicated that young stands out yielded old stands by 50% (7.3 vs. 4.9 Mg/ha) in both the spring and summer harvest in 2000, but there was no difference between spring and summer yields within each age group.