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Interpretation of tiller or shoot density data requires resolution of two independent, confounding effects, namely size/density compensation and what is here called the "leaf area effect". Size/density compensation implies that at higher herbage mass, individual tillers or shoots are larger, but the population density is correspondingly decreased. The leaf area effect represents difference in sward leaf area for two tiller populations. Such leaf area differences may be environmentally or genetically determined, but must of necessity be expressed through change in tiller size and/or tiller density as "yield components" of leaf area. The theoretical basis for distinguishing between size/density compensation and the leaf area effect is to consider tiller or shoot density and herbage yield, respectively, as X,Y co-ordinates in a size/density plot. When such a plot is drawn on a logarithmic scale, points along a line of -l/2 slope show size/ density compensation with respect to each other. Movement of points to the right or left of the size/ density compensation line is evidence of a leaf area effect. It is shown that when the size/density effects are removed from a data set in this way, rankings of experimental treatments for the leaf area effect can often be reversed compared with the ranking of uncorrected tiller density. Tiller density data corrected for size/density compen-. sation in this way appear to be a useful indicator of sward productivity. Keywords: sizeldensity compensation, sward productivity, tiller density

The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of cutting height on tiller population density, tiller weight and herbage harvested in perennial ryegrass swards. One hundred mini‐swards of Lolium perenne were established from seed on 5 May 1993 in 150 mm × 150 mm plastic pots in a greenhouse. The experimental period lasted 6 months (May to November). On 4 June all pots were cut to 50 mm and randomly allocated to five treatments (20, 40, 80, 120 and 160 mm sward surface height) with twenty replicates (four per tray). All pots were cut twice weekly to the specified surface height from 11 June, and recording began on 14 June. Every 4 weeks from 9 July to 5 November the twenty pots contained in one tray were withdrawn for destructive measurements of tiller population density and the weights of tiller components. Tiller population density increased with reduction in defoliation height, except for the 20‐mm treatment where tiller density was initially restricted. The slope of the size/density compensation (SDC) line was close to −5/2 over the range of defoliation heights 40–120 mm, but was less than −1·0 between 120 and 160 mm. These slopes are consistent with a recent theory, which proposes that variations from a slope of −3/2 will be linked to defoliation‐induced changes in canopy leaf area and to change in tiller leaf area:volume ratio, R. At defoliation heights below 120 mm, SDC slope was increased by reduction in canopy leaf area. Above 120 mm, increase in R forced a relatively rapid tiller population decline, resulting in a reduced SDC slope and decrease in canopy leaf area. Whereas traditional measures of leafiness such as leaf:stem ratio or leaf:non‐leaf ratio decreased with increasing height of defoliation, the leaf area:volume ratio, R, increased with defoliation height. Distance from an arbitrarily positioned −3/2 SDC line was correlated with sward productivity.

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SUMMARYPlant organic reserves and sward leaf area index (LAI) influence plant growth, persistency and herbage accumulation in grazed swards. The present study was conducted to describe patterns of variation in herbage accumulation and carbohydrate and nitrogen (N) reserves in shoot and root of marandu palisade grass subjected to intensities of continuous stocking management throughout the year. Treatments corresponded to four levels of grazing intensity – severe (S), severe/moderate (S/M), moderate (M) and lenient (L) – and were implemented in the field using bands of sward surface height (SSH – 10, 20, 30 and 40 cm ± 10%, respectively) maintained through continuous stocking and variable stocking rate. Total N concentration was higher in the shoot relative to the root compartment during autumn, early and late spring. On the other hand, the concentration of non-structural carbohydrates (NSC) and soluble N was higher in the root compartment, regardless of grazing intensity and season of the year. When taking into account the pool of C and N reserves, the shoot compartment represented the main storage organ, since it corresponded to the largest pool of NSC (averages of 0·102 ± 0·0038 and 0·201 ± 0·0088 kg/m2 for root and shoot, respectively) and soluble N (averages of 2·7 ± 0·26 and 5·3 ± 0·59 kg/m2 for root and shoot, respectively). During late spring, the time of active plant growth, there was a clear contrast in herbage accumulation and sward LAI among grazing intensities, particularly between the severe and lenient grazing treatments. The results show that even with larger pools of soluble N and NSC in the shoot compartment, herbage accumulation was limited by the reduced leaf area of swards subjected to the severe grazing treatment, indicating that under continuous stocking growth seems to be sustained by current assimilates instead of organic reserves. Therefore, targets of grazing management for maximizing herbage accumulation throughout the year should provide adequate combinations between quantity and quality of sward leaf area. This condition was obtained in the severe/moderate and moderate grazing intensities, and corresponded to sward heights between 20 and 30 cm for marandu palisade grass.

This study investigated the effects of defoliation intensity on the above‐ and below‐ground plant mass, rates of CO2 exchange and leaf appearance rate of ryegrass miniature swards maintained at constant cutting height ranging from 20 mm to 160 mm for 5 months. Total plant mass, above‐ground herbage mass and root mass increased as cutting height increased from 20 to 120 mm. Further increase in cutting height did not increase total plant mass or its components. Leaf appearance rate and photosynthesis per unit of leaf dry matter (DM) decreased as defoliation height increased from 20 to 160 mm. Gross and net CO2 uptake per unit soil surface area increased with cutting height to 120 mm. Further increase in cutting height to 160 mm decreased gross and net CO2 uptake and herbage harvested. A multivariate canonical discriminant analysis indicated different responses of root and shoot mass to cutting height and a reduction in CO2 uptake rate at the 160 mm cutting height. The implications of those responses to defoliation management of forage plants are discussed.

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