Abstract
Variation of root system in seedlings and adult plants of tall fescue (F. arundinacea Schreb.) was examined in relation to shoot system. Cultivars tended to show higher shoot growth relative to root growth than natural strains during seedling growth. Among natural strains, those from cool climates tended to have higher root: shoot ratio than those from warm climates. Plants with large tillers tended to have high root DW, but those with rapid rate of tillering tended to have low root DW. During reproductive growth stage, the growth of reproductive tillers did not bring about the proportional increase in root growth, but it caused change in the vertical distribution pattern of roots in the soil: the relatively greater spread of the root in the deeper soil layers.
