Abstract
A three-year experiment was conducted to investigate the response of bahiagrass sward to cutting height. The sward were cut to the heights of 2, 7, 12, 17 and 22 cm at the 2-4 week intervals from May to November. In all the plant and litter parts, significant effect of the cutting height on the dry weight per unit area appeared in the first season after the treatment initiation, and usually continued throughout the experiment. The pattern of response, however, varied with the plant and litter parts, season, year and the time after the treatment initiation. Response of leaf and stem ddry weights to cutting height varied with the season and year. Low cutting height decreased leaf weight from summer to early winter, and stem weight from summer to winter. In spring, however, lower cutting heights did not always result in lower leaf and stem weights than higher cutting heights. Dry weight of standing dead consistently took and increasing tendency as the cutting height increased. Response of stolon and root dry weights changed with the time after the treatment initiation. The cutting height for the maximum weights of stolon and root shifted from the 22 cm side to 2 cm side. Dry weight of surface litter was always smallest under the lowest cutting height. Response of belowground litter varied with the season and year without any definite trends. The results were compared with those from other swards to characterize the bahiagrass response, and possible factors influencing the responses were discussed.
