Abstract: By the method of randomly digging up whole ramet tuft while maintaini ng natural integrity, large samples of Cynodon dactylon clones were collecte d from a grape orchard abandoned for 2 years without any management in the Yili River Valley Plain of Xinjiang, aimed to quantitatively analyze the growth patte rns of their modules. The results showed that the average ramet number of test 3 0 clones reached 2726±1866, among which, vegetative ramets occupied 823%, being 43 times higher than reproductive ones. The total biomass of the clones was 454±400 g, in which, rhizomes accounted for 544%, while the vegetati ve ramets, stolons, and reproductive ramets occupied 210%, 148%, and 94% o f the total, respectively. The accumulative length of rhizomes and stolons reached 51±47 m and 33±34 m, while the bud number on stolons and rhizomes was 2915±2468 and 788±874, respectively. The bud number on stolons and rhizomes was positively correlated to the quantitative characters of vegetative rame ts, reproductive ramets, stolons, and rhizomes (P<001), indicating that in Yili River Valley Plain, C. dactylon clone could achieve and maintain its c ontinuous renovation via rhizome buds.

Key words: cotton, water and nitrogen management, photosynthesis, chlorophyll fluorescence, yield.