Effects of different watering methods, soil weights, soil diluents and soil coverings on the yield and nutrient uptake by ryegrass grown in a controlled environment

A pot experiment was made to test the effects of various experimental techniques on yield and nutrient uptake by ryegrass grown in a controlled environment. Plants grown in 200 g soil yielded more per unit weight of soil than plants grown in the larger weight of soil (600 g). Supplying water to the saucers in which the plants stood gave significantly larger yields than watering to 80% water holding capacity (WHC) either once or twice daily. %N, %K and %Mg were larger in plants grown in the most soil, %P was unaffected and %Ca was less. With either soil weight, watering and amount of soil diluent had more effect on %P and %Ca than on the other nutrients