View article

Cool spring and early summer temperatures have limited the adoption of warm season grasses in northern environments like eastern Canada. This study characterized the performance of nine switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) populations (‘Blackwell’, ‘Cave‐in‐Rock’, ‘Dakota’, ‘Forestburg’, ‘New Jersey SO’, ‘Pathfinder’, ‘Sunburst’, ‘Shelter’, and ‘ND3743’) in southwestern Quebec. These populations were evaluated for 3 yr on a St. Bernard sandy clay loam (Typic Hapludalf) near Montreal. Leaf area development patterns during the season fitted second degree polynomial models, increasing with time after planting and decreasing in the fall. Maximum leaf area index (LAI) ranged from 6.1 to 8 m² m⁻² with Cave‐in‐Rock and New Jersey 50 having the highest LAIs. The populations had different vertical leaf area distributions. For Blackwell, Cave‐in‐Rock, and Shelter, more than 50% of the leaf area was in the top …