A SMALL INCREASE IN THE CONCENTRATION OF PHOSPHORUS IN THE SOWN SEED INCREASED THE EARLY GROWTH OF WHEAT

Wheat seed from the same origin but with different concentrations of p hosphorus (P) (1.3 and 1.7 g P/kg) was grown on P responsive soils in a glasshouse and a field experiment in Western Australia. The effects of the concen- tration of P in the seed (seed P) on the growth of shoo ts and roots during tillering and booting (glasshouse) or ear emergenc e (field), and on the grain yields of the wheat plants, were measured. The concentrations of P in these plant tissues were also measured. In both the glasshouse and the field, the dry weights of whole shoots (W S) during tillering increased with seed P, irrespective of soil P. The dry weights of WS measured at later stages of growth and the grain yi elds, however, were unaffected by seed P. The concentrations of P meas ured in the WS and grain were also unaffected by seed P.