THE EFFECT OF SEED SIZE ON THE EARLY GROWTH AND WATERLOGGING TOLERANCE OF RYEGRASS (LOLIUM SPP.)

AM Leddin^1,2, KF Smith¹, NM McFarlane¹ and TA Ciavarella^1
1Department of Primary Industries, Hamilton, Victoria 3300, Australia
²Warrnambool Co-operative, 259 Timor St., Warrnambool, Victoria 3280, Australia

Experiments were undertaken to investigate the variation between accessions of perennial ryegrass seedlings for waterlogging tolerance determined by the percentage decrease in shoot and root dry matter (DM) yields (average 21% and 33% respectively) during a period of waterlogging and recovery. Seed mass had a weak positive correlation with total plant DM yield under waterlogged or non-waterlogged conditions. The variation for root and shoot DM yield in these experiments highlights the possibility of the development of a waterlogging-tolerant cultivar.