The main shoot branches at least 4 times.
At anthesis, 65 70 identical main shoot spikes of each cultivar from every experimental units were ear marked.
Spikes are loosely arranged at the distal end of the main shoot, but more compact on the basal lateral branches.
Shoot samples (PO:0009006; shoot system, PO:0007112; 1 main shoot growth stage, Cooper et al. 2013) were collected at 5 days after nutrient starvation.
Further tillers are formed on main shoot, a gradual increase in plant height and leaf emergence at regular intervals takes place during vegetative development.
Emphasis was on observations on the main shoot and tillers, linking to plant and canopy level in Steinfort at al. (2016).
Branch topping 15 25 days after main shoot topping is a common practice for Chinese farmers in order to increase yields at the expense of fibre quality.
At each measurement the number of leaves, green leaves and tillers on main shoot, apex length (mm) and height to the uppermost node, and stipule (cm) were recorded.
The main shoot is slightly curved, with nodes and internodes.
At the same time, 20 35 symptomatic plants were randomly sampled in the same fields by cutting a 10-cm stem section from the main shoot.
