EN
The evaluation of growth and development of cocksfoot in pure sowing and in mixtures with timothy and perennial ryegrass was carried out in two habitats that were different in terms of soil kind, level of ground water, and weather conditions in the vegetation period. Experiments were located in the northern (Elizówka) and southern (Zaburze) part of the Lublin agricultural-climatic region. In the northern part, the yearly rainfall did not exceed 550 mm, whereas in the southern part it reached 650 mm. The Elizówka experiment (dry habitat) was set on brown soil, while in Zaburze (humid habitat) - on deluvial soil. The research had been carried out for 4 years. Plants were cut 3 times each year. The analysis of the growth and development of cocksfoot was carried out according to the results of shoots length measurements (their maximum range) and the evaluation of tillering intensity (total number of shoots per plant), which had been done prior to cropping of each cut. The research showed that habitat conditions, as well as the species composition of the mixtures affected the growth and development of cocksfoot. Unfavourable weather conditions in spring (negative temperature and water deficit) limited the growth and development of cocksfoot more intensively in the dry habitat that in the humid one. In the mixtures, competitive effects of the components had greater influence on the intensity of tillering than one the length of cocksfoot shoots. The length of cocksfoot shoots in mixtures with timothy was similar to pure sowings in both habitats, whereas in the humid habitat (Zaburze) perennial ryegrass weakened the growth of the length of cocksfoot shoots in the second and in the third year of vegetation. In pure sowing, cocksfoot created an average of 54.2 shoots per plant, while in the mixture with timothy an average was 64.0, and with perennial ryegrass it was 67.3 on average. Those results indicate that cocksfoot is highly resistant to competitive activity of timothy and perennial ryegrass.