SEED AND VEGETATIVE REPRODUCTION IN RELATION TO DENSITY IN FRAGARIA VIRGINIANA (ROSACEAE)

Transplants of Fragaria virginiana Duchesne, the wild strawberry, from field and woods sites, were studied under controlled laboratory conditions to determine their seed and vegetative reproduction responses under different density conditions. The following results were obtained: (1) Increased competition among high density grown plants resulted in lower total biomass when compared to low density grown plants; (2) Increased shading in high density plots resulted in a greater percentage of biomass in leaves; (3) The percentage of total biomass in reproductive organs (seed and vegetative) was higher in low density grown plants; (4) Vegetative “reproductive effort” was higher in low density plots than in high density plots while seed “reproductive effort” remained constant between the two density treatments; (5) No significant difference between plants from habitats of different successional maturity was observed under the experimental treatments. These results are discussed in relation to reproductive density response models.