Studies on the Resistance of some Winter Forage Crops to High Soil Moisture : III. Observations on Stomata

Abstract

The results of the comparative study on stomatal number and stomatal area per 1mm^2 on leaf of forages, growing in plots classfied on the basis of their moisture contents of soil, were reported in this paper. Italian rye grass, Rye and Oat were used as materials. The results were as follows: 1) The number of stomata per 1mm^2 on leaf of plants varied with growth as well as with the increase of moisture which it is grown. 2) Then umber of stomata per unit area on leaf of Rye and Oat were effected by the amounts of moisture in soil, but effect on Italian rye grass was not clearly distinguished. 3) It was noted that, in this observation at least, the number of stomata per unit area increased from the midrib toward the margin. 4) It was found that the stomata of Italian rye grass growing in cold season were completely absent from the lower surface of leaf. 5) The area of stomata was about 0.3-0.8% of the total upper leaf surface in Italian rye grass, 0.38-1.5%, 0.74-1.46% of those in Rye and Oat. From the above observation and previous reports, considerable water appears to be losed by transpiration from cuticle in Italian rye grass.