Dry matter partitioning and biometrical relations in kenaf grown in the Mediterranean environment.

The trial has been worked out in a three-year period (1993-1995) in the soth of Italy. Two genotypes of different photoperiodic sensitivity have been compared (the late flowering "Tainung 2" and the early flowering "G 4" together with three harvest times ( 15 sep, 15 oct, 15 nov). A crop density of 32 plants m-2 was performed. Irrigation replenished the 100% of the crop water consumptions. Tainung 2 showed a higher dry matter yield than G 4, with reference to total, stem and leaf biomass, while the earlier genotype G 4 marked a superior production of capsules. Tainung 2 recorded its maximum total dry matter value at the second harvest reaching 22.8 Mg ha-1. Stem dry weight, as average of the last two harvests, was equal to 18.4 Mg ha-1 in Tainung 2 and 12.9 Mg ha-1 in G 4. Tainung 2, with respect both to total and stem, showed a 40% higher production level than G 4. Biomass yield was better correlated to plant height than to stem diameter; the highest correlation coefficient was observed between stem dry matter and plant height.