Growth and development of Paspalum virgatum L.

Abstract

The objective of the work was to evaluate the growth and development of the razor-blade grass (Paspalum virgatum L.). The experimental design was a randomized complete block design with 17 treatments, and the growth evaluations were performed at 20, 27, 34, 41, 48, 55, 62, 69, 76, 83, 90, 97, 104, 111, 118, 125, 132 days after sowing (DAS) and five replications, considering as sowing date the day the seeds were placed in the plastic boxes. The evaluated characteristics were: total dry mass (Mt), shoot dry mass (Ma) and dry mass of roots (Mr), number of leaves and number of tillers per plant. The quantitative variables related to plant growth were analyzed by applying the F test on the analysis of variance followed by non-linear log-logistic regressions, with the objective of modeling the data in the form of equations. The razor-blade grass (Paspalum virgatum L.) is a weed with slow initial development and growth, but with high dry mass production at the end of the cycle.