Relationships between the blade and sheath growth in the same leaf and in successive leaves of winter barley

Abstract

Winter barley (Hordeum vulgare L. cv. Efra) plants were grown till the stage of the fourth leaf under controlled conditions at constant temperatures 26.0 °C, 21.8 °C, 19.6 °C and 15.3 °C. The relationships between the sheath and blade growth was studied. The leaf sheath began to be discernible when it was 0.1 mm long and the blade length was 20 mm. In this stage a correlation (r = 0.812) was found between the length of blade and that of shearth. The sheath length in 20 mm long leaf increased in dependence on leaf insertion. At the time of the beginning of sheath discernibility the elongation growth of the subsequent leaf was initiated. In this stage the sheath length and the length of the subsequent leaf were correlated (r = 0.911). At the beginning of the growth of the subsequent leaf the length of the preceding sheath increased in dependence on insertion. Other relations were derived graphically and a hypothetical model of relationships between the cereal leaf growth and development was formulated. © 1992 Institute of Experimental Botany.