Some effects of soil physical condition on ryegrass growth

Abstract

Two experiments are reported, wherein soil physical condition was changed by (1) compaction treatments and (2) compaction and puddling treatments. Seedlings of perennial rye grass (Lolium perenne L.) and short-rotation ryegrass (L. perenne × L. multifiorum Lam.) were used in the winter 1955. Both rye grasses were tolerant of increasing soil compaction, the only effects being ephemeral changes in growth form, and differences in root distribution. Where the soil had been puddled, the growth of both ryegrasses was reduced, but a compaction three weeks after the puddling appeared to remove the worst effects of the puddling.