Fig. 2.

Vernalization time and canopy structure in timothy. The number of leaves, the number of tillers and the percentage of flowering plants (as indicated) were determined 30–45 d after vernalization, when the development of new tillers had ceased. The seedlings were vernalized at 6 °C/4 ° C (day/night) for 0, 2, 10, 18 or 20 weeks and transferred to the greenhouse for growth monitoring for 5–6 weeks. The transition of the apical meristem from the vegetative to the reproductive stage occurred in seedlings vernalized for ≥10 weeks. Data show the means ± s.e. of a total of 15 seedlings. Bars indicating the leaf or tiller number or percentage of flowering stems above which there is a common letter do not differ significantly at P ≤ 0·05 with Tukey test.