Effect of Planting Depth on Seedling Growth of Russian Wildrye (Elymus junceus Fisch.)

Abstract

Planting depth of Russian wildrye (Elymus junceus Fisch.) influenced seedling growth during the seedling year. In field plantings over 4 years at two locations, plants from 2.5- and 3.8-cm planting depths were significantly taller than plants from the 1.3-cm depth. In greenhouse plantings, plants from 3.8-cm planting depth were consistently taller than plants from the 1.3-cm depth, but the plants from the 1.3-cm depth generally produced more tillers. Transplants with crowns set 1.3 cm deep produced more tillers than those with crowns set 3.8 cm deep. Depth of transplanting had no effect on height of plants. The height difference between plants planted at different depths apparently resulted from some form of seedling selection at greater depths, but the number of tillers probably was determined by crown depth alone. Grass breeders using planting depth to evaluate seedling vigor may be inadvertently selecting for taller plants. Weight per plant tended to be higher for the 1.3-cm planting depth than for the 3.8-cm depth, but this effect was not consistent.