Crop physiology of triticale in the context of dual purpose use

Triticale is a crop used in the context of dual-purpose. The removal of above ground biomass at terminal spikelet stage can affect biomass production and grain yield (Chapt. 1), intercepted radiation and radiation-use-efficiency (Chapt. 2), kernel number per unit area (Chapt. 3).Five field experiments were carried out in two locations and on different sowings dates. Treatments were represented by the factorial combination of two sowing rates, two triticale cultivars (one spring and one winter) and two clipping treatments (clipped and unclipped).Clipping affected final biomass and HI in opposite directions. The reduction in grain yield due to clipping was therefore less than proportional than the corresponding reduction in biomass and was strongly influenced by the combination ‘sowing date by cutlivar’.In the rare cases in which clipping reduced the ability of the crops to produce biomass in the period between TS and anthesis, the cause was a lower leaf area. Radiation-use-efficiency was not affected by clipping consistently with the lack of any effect on leaf characteristics responsible for the photosynthetic rate.Clipping can affect KNO, and grain yield as a consequence, both in winter and spring cultivars. This effect is not necessarily mediated by a lower amount of biomass allocated to the spikes of clipped crops. Much more relevant are the conditions around anthesis as long as they can affect grain set.