Investigations on tensile strength of plant material using a modern measuring stand

Abstract

Investigations were carried out in years 2008–2009 on plant material obtained from two cultivar testing experiments in Brody. Leaf blades were collected randomly in 30 replications at the stage of pasture maturity from each plot. Simultaneously, biometric studies were performed involving the determination of the leaf weight as well as the width of leaf blades. Tensile strength of rachilla was assessed using inflorescences of various grass genotypes of the Lolium-Festuca complex derived from experiments in Brody and in Szelejewo in the first year of their utilisation. A prototype measuring stand was used to carry out experiments on the tensile strength of leaf blades as well as rachillae of different grass genotypes. It was found that in tensile strength investigations of plant material such as the employed in these studies leaf blades and rachillae as well as seed retention strength in spikelet of various grass genotypes, it is feasible to use a modern measuring stand whose main element was a test machine operating in the range from 30 N to 300 mN on the basis of subassemblies of the HBM Company