<b>Evaluation of physiological characteristics in five <em>Cynodon</em> cultivars</b> - DOI: 10.4025/actascianimsci.v28i3.36

Abstract

The experiment was carried out at Ciências Agrárias e Veterinárias Faculty, UNESP, Jaboticabal, São Paulo State, in order to evaluate five Cynodon cultivars. The plants, sampled once a week, were from 14 to 84 days, and the study focused on their physiological characteristics. A random design with split plot was adopted with three replications, considering cultivars as plot and cutting age as split plot. The following variables were studied: relative growth rate, specific leaf area, LAI, leaf weight/total dry matter ratio and chlorophyll contents. The relative growth rates were similar for the five cultivars studied, varying with the age of the plants. The cultivar Tifton 85 showed the highest values for leaf weight/total dry matter ratio and leaf area. The cultivars Tifton 68, Tifton 85 and Florico showed the highest LAI and values did not differ among each other. Chlorophyll content did not limit plant growth. Data obtained allowed us to conclude that the five cultivars would be better managed during 28 days of plant growth