Root Development of 12 Forage Legumes as Affected by Temperature

Legumes with roots that elongate rapidly over a wide temperature range should have improved seedling establishment semiarid regions. We determined effects of 10, 15, 20, 25 and 30 °C temperature on main axis and lateral root growth of 12 forage legumes in germination chambers. Legumes differed (P < 0.05) in both main axis root length and lateral root development over temperatures and there were significant (P ° 0.05) entry by temperature interactions. There were significant positive non‐linear correlations with (R2,) of 0.72, 0.68 and 0.76 at 15, 20 and 25 °C temperatures, respectively, between seed weight and main axis root elongation.