Ability to recover overrides the negative effects of flooding on growth of tropical grasses Chloris gayana and Panicum coloratum

IMAZ JA; GIMENEZ DO; GRIMOLDI AA; STRIKER GG

Crop & Pasture Science

CSIRO PUBLISHING

Lugar: Collingwood; Año: 2015 vol. 66 p. 100 - 106

1836-0947

This study assessed the flooding tolerance of tropical grasses Chloris gayana and Panicum coloratum, at different moments of the year: (i) late winter flooding for 50 days (WF), (ii) early spring flooding (SF) for 20 days, and (iii) long-term flooding covering both periods (WF+SF, 70 days). A growth-period under well watered conditions was allowed after each flooding event to assess plant species recovery. Plants were harvested after each flooding event, and at the end of the recovery period. P. coloratum had higher tolerance to WF than C. gayana. WF did not affect biomass in P. coloratum while it reduced biomass of flooded plants by 38% in C. gayana. SF did not differentiate species? tolerance as both registered similar and moderate reduction in their growth (20 to 30%). Under long-term flooding (WF+SF), C. gayana showed additional reduction in its growth to that observed when subjected separately to either WF or SF, while P. coloratum did not. Remarkably, both species displayed outstandingly fast recovery from flooding when temperatures rose during early summer, attaining equivalent biomass to that of non-flooded plants in only one month after water subsided. So, although P. coloratum appears as slightly more tolerant during flooding than C. gayana, both species look promising to be introduced in temperate lowland grasslands.