The relationship between different agronomic measures and seed yield and yield components of Deschampsia cespitosa

This experiment adopted a three-factor and five-level experimental design to study the influence of different seeding densities, fertilizer quantities, and row spacings on the seed yield and yield components of Deschampsia cespitosa, and provide technical support and a theoretical basis for the efficient original seed propagation of D. cespitosa. We found that the combination mode of 22.5 kg·ha⁻¹ sowing density, 150.0 kg·ha⁻¹ fertilization quantity, and 30.0 cm row spacing resulted in the highest seed yield in the second year (130.78 kg·ha⁻¹). There was a highly significant positive correlation between seed yield and spike width, spikelets per reproductive branch, florets per reproductive branch, and fruiting number per reproductive branch (P < 0.01), and there was a significant positive correlation between seed yield and spike length (P < 0.05). Through multiple regression and a path analysis relationship model, we found that ear width, spikelets per reproductive branch, fruit-bearing number per reproductive branch, florets per reproductive branch, and 1000-seed weight had significant effects on seed yield, and had higher direct and indirect effects on seed yield. In the future planting process, the cultivation technology can be appropriately adjusted to increase the ear width, the number of solid seeds per reproductive branch, and the number of small flowers per reproductive branch to improve the yield of D. cespitosa.