Characteristics of Dry Matter Production and Effect of Temperature on of Tuber and Rhizome Growth in Field Horsetail (Equisetum arvense L.)

Abstract

Several experiments were conducted to analyse the ecological characteristics of dry matter production and the effect of temperature on tuber and rhizome growth in Equisetum arvense L..
The elongation of rhizomes in E. arvense occurred soon after the start of shoot growth. The formation of tubers started two months later than the rhizome elongation. It was found that the photosynthetic rate of E. arvense was not very high compared with that of other plants. The greater part of dry matter production was allocated to rhizomes and tubers, and the dry matter partitioning ratio to these two organs became as high as 75% at the mature growth stage.
Total length of new rhizomes originating from tuber was longer than that from rhizome, except at a high temperature such as 30°C.