Studies on competition for sulfur between subterranean clover and annual ryegrass. III. Effects of plant density and nitrogen supply

Abstract

The effects of plant density and supplies of nitrogen and sulfur on competition for sulfur between subterranean clover (Trifolium subterraneum cv. Trikkala) and ryegrass (Lolium rigidum cv. Wimmera) were studied in a glasshouse experiment over a period of 40 days. Irrespective of the density or proportion of each species in the mixture, changes in the supply of nitrogen and sulfur did not cause interspecific competition for sulfur. For subterranean clover, sulfur application increased the number of lateral branches, petiole length and shoot yield. Sulfur application had similar effects on ryegrass, but only at the high level of nitrogen supply. Nitrogen application increased leaf length and tiller number of ryegrass, and increased yield and sulfur content of shoots of both species. In swards where both species were in equal proportions, increasing the overall density from 10 to 30 plants/pot (i.e. from 497 to 1490 plants/m2) did not affect botanical composition or result in interspecific competition, but increased the degree of intraspecific competition. As density increased, the number of branches (tillers), the yield and the sulfur content per plant of each species decreased. Increasing plant density increased the average length of subterranean clover petioles, but had no effect on the average length of ryegrass leaves. When the ryegrass density in mixed swards was low, increasing the density of subterranean clover plants resulted in interspecific competition to the detriment of ryegrass. This competitive situation was considered to be due to competition for light, as it was not alleviated by the addition of sulfur and nitrogen.