Correlations between photosynthetic indicators and vegetative mass yield in red clover (Trifoliumpratense L.)

Experiments were conducted at the Rimski Sancevi Experiment Field in the period 1998-1999 The experiment object were six varieties and two populations of red clover. In both years, we determined photosynthetic indi­cators (LAI - leaf area index, LAd - leaf area density, NAR - net photosynthetic productivity) per individual cuttings and the total yield of vegetative mass. The obtained data were statistically processed by the path coefficient analysis. High simple correlations between the photosynthetic indicators (LAI and LAd) and the yield of green forage were found in all cuttings in both years. Highly significant (**) direct effects of NAR and LAI on the yield of vegetative mass were found in almost all cuttings. LAI and LAd exhibited the highest total effects on the yield of vegetative mass. The coefficients of multiple determination between the analyzed photosynthetic indicators and the yield of vegetative mass were high (96.88 - 99 49 %) in all cuttings. .