Effect of planting method and species on germination and survival of perennial wheatgrasses (agropyron spp.) seeded during drought in the moulouya plain of morocco

Abstract The effect of three methods of seeding four species of perennial wheat‐grasses ( Agropyron spp.) on three range sites in the Moulouya Plain of Morocco, North Africa, on germination and survivability during drought was evaluated. A conventional method of land preparation and seeding was compared to two different techniques using a rangeland drill in 1984. Agropyron elongatum (Host) Beauv., A. intermedium (Host) Beauv., A. trichophorum (Link) Richt., and A. cristatum (L.) Gaertn. were seeded on two shallow‐soil sites dominated by Stipa tenassicima L. and Artemisia herba‐alba Asso and a deep‐soil site dominated by A. herba‐alba in 1984. Plant density was measured in 1985 and 1988. On the shallow, more xeric sites, the conventional method of site preparation and seeding favored establishment. On these sites, species having large seed characteristics ( A. elongatum, A. intermedium and A. trichophorum) were more adept (P > 0.05) at establishment during droughty conditions than the smaller seeded A. cri...