2009 Volume 54 Issue 2 Pages 55-62
The regrowth response and seed-production capability of Asiatic plantain (Plantago asiatica L.) plants after cutting was examined in comparison with those of other native plants. Native plants used were Goosegrass (Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn.), Common purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.), Southern crabgrass (Digitaria adscendens (H.B.K.) Henr.), Japanese mugwort (Artemisia princeps Pampan) and Cogongrass (Imperata cylindrica (L.) Beauv.), which grow near farm areas.
The following results were obtained.
Four weeks after cutting, Asiatic plantain plants of 3cm cutting height had an almost equal number of leaves to those produced by plants in a no-cutting treatment. However, the Goosegrass leaf quantity was 72%-the other four species’ leaf numbers were 67% or less-compared to the respective no-cutting treatments. Moreover, results showed that the type of regrowth differed among species in the case of cutting height at the ground surface:Asiatic plantains regrew with leaves emerging from the cut main stem;other species regrew mainly with shoots emerging from their branches and axillary buds. The leaf emergence rates of Asiatic plantains sown in May and cut in July or August were higher than in no-cutting plants. Results show that the number of leaves recovered to pre-cutting quantities by 28 days after cutting;the number became equal to that of leaves in no-cutting plants by 40 days after cutting. Moreover, inflorescence production of the cut plants started from 30-40 days after cutting. By about 50 days after cutting, inflorescence production was not inferior to that of no-cutting plants. Taken together, these results demonstrate that Asiatic plantain plants promptly reproduce the assimilatory organ by increasing the leaf emergence rate from the main stem, even if aerial parts are cut during the growth period, which enables seed production for the next generation.
