Abstract
Stipa barbata is one of the most important forage bunch grasses for reseeding Mediterranean-type arid areas. Poor germination was found to be caused by seed immaturity: mature seeds gave 82 per cent on the seventh day at the optimal temperature (20 °C). Minimum and maximum temperatures for germination were 8 °C and 33 °C, respectively. Germination was insensitive to light and CaCO 3 and was relatively tolerant of up to 2 per cent NaCl. The survival rate of transplanted plants into a xeric environment (137 mm precipitation) was excellent; and broadcast seeding gave good establishment in wet years with more than 170 mm rainfall. Optimal growth is in long days (14–18 h) and warm temperatures (21±4°C). Culm height is strongly influenced by the photothermic rhythm from March through April. The boot stage requires a day length longer than 12 h, while summer dormancy is found to be moisture dependent—in contrast to photo-thermic native short grasses.
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