[Influence of different clipping intensity and R/FR ratio in light radiation on tillering of weeping lovegrass]

Pot experiment with weeping lovegrass was conducted laboratory in the Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, Texas Tech University in 1996. The plants grown in green house were used to study the effect of different clipping intensities on tillering, and those grown in laboratory were used to study the interaction between different R/FR(red/farred) ratio of the light reaching to the lower strata of the canopy and different clipping intensities on tillering. The results show that increasing clipping intensity decreased the net gain tillers, bt R/FR ratio had no significant effect on tillering, except no clipping treatment. The compensatory growth effect of tillering did not existed at all clipping intensities, but the elongation speed of young leaves quickened with clipping intensities. It is suggested that suitable utilization, intensified utilization and no utilization were all not beneficial to the growth and development of weeping lovegrass.