Effects of Temperature on Growth and Dry Matter Accumulation in Mulberry Saplings

Prediction of mulberry (Moms alba L. cv. Shinn-ichinose) growth is necessary to cope with recent trends in mulberry cultivation. To develop a mulberry growth model, I investigated the response of mulberry growth to temperature. Mulberry saplings were grown in 1995 and 1996 at four constant (20, 24, 28, 32°C) and one diurnally fluctuating (32/24°C -mean 28°C) temperature conditions for 50-60 days in phytotrons under natural sunlight. Shoot length and leaf number were measured every 10 days during the temperature treatment and the dry matter of each plant part was measured at the end of the treatment period. Shoot length and leaf number increased exponentially with time at all temperatures examined, and these values increased with the increase in temperature. Shoot dry weight, over the period of the treatment, increased with temperature but the dry weights of stump and root were not affected by temperature. The optimum temperature for mulberry growth and dry matter accumulation was approximately 32°C