Table 3

Significance of the difference between the control and the mean of all the defoliation treatments.
* P < 0.05; ** P < 0.01; *** P < 0.001; NS, nonsignificant.
^†Difference between the control and mean of all defoliation treatments.
^‡In the first year, one-third of the treatments were clipped at the first defoliation, two-thirds at the second, and all at the third. Values followed by different letters are significantly different.
^§Values given represent grams of dry matter per container with a soil surface area of 1.25 m².

Component	Control^†	Clipping frequency (no. times clipped)^‡				Clipping height (cm)				Interaction
		1	2	3	Significance	5	2.5	1	Significance	Fraction x height
Total shoot biomass (g DM)^§	74**	57^a	50^b	46^b	* *	54	49	50	NS	NS
Vegetative biomass (g DM)	49 NS	49^a	44^ab	40^b	* *	45	43	45	NS	NS
Reproductive biomass, spikes (g DM)	25***	8^a	6^a	7^b	*	9^a	6^b	5^b	***	NS
Reproductive plants (%)	34***	14	12	14	NS	17^a	12^b	10^b	***	NS
No. tillers/plant (2 April)	4.3***	4.8^b	7.5^a	7.7^a	**	5.8^b	7.0^a	7.2^a	**	*