Effect of Temperature on Growth of Five Subtropical Grasses. I. Effect of Day and Night Temperature on Growth and Morphological Development

Abstract

Cenchrus ciliaris, Chloris gayana, Panicum maximum var, trichoglume, Panicum coloratum var. makarikariense and Pennisetum clandestinum were grown in two experiments in controlled environments, each experiment having all possible day/night temperature combinations of (1) 10, 20, 30, and 40°C and (2) 15,25, 30 and 35°C.

Both day and night temperatures significantly affected growth in all species. Growth was greatly restricted by constant temperatures of 10 and 15°, while maximum growth rates occurred at 29-35°C day temperatures with 26-30°C night temperatures. At optimum or supra-optimum temperatures a diurnal variation in temperature gave higher growth rates than a constant temperature for the same daily mean. By contrast, at suboptimum temperatures a constant temperature gave the highest growth rates and growth rate was decreased as the diurnal variation about a given daily mean temperature was increased.

Mathematical functions relating the growth of each species to day and night temperature and maximum growth rate at optimum temperatures were developed.

The effect of temperature on relative growth rate (R_w) was mediated through its effect on net assimilation rate (E_A). Night temperature was found to affect R_w and E_A independently of day temperature and therefore a prehistory effect of night temperature on photosynthesis in the subsequent day was indicated.

Temperature had significant effects on tillering in P. maximum and P. clandestinum but had little effect in C. gayana, C. ciliaris and P. coloratum. The optimum temperatures for leaf growth and leaf area development in C. ciliaris and C. gayana were higher than the optimum temperatures for growth of the whole plant, while optimum temperatures for stem growth were lower. In P. maximum, P. coloratum and P. clandestinum, optimum temperatures for all growth components were similar.

Differences between temperate and tropical grasses in morphological reaction to temperature are discussed.