ABSTRACT In order to estimate the base temperature (Bt) of growth through the appearance of leaves and calculate the phyllochron for kikuyu grass, three plots were established on three farms in the Provincia of Ubaté (Cundinamarca, Colombia) located at different altitudes (2560, 2640, 3143 m. a. s. l.). Measurements were made in four cycles in a period of eight months. The Bt was estimated by the least coefficient of variation method using a second order regression model and the model obtained was validated by the cross-validation method. The Bt values for the first, second, third and fourth leafwere 4.02, 3.68, 3.93, and 3.62 °C, respectively. For the appearance of the first leaf, the kikuyu required more thermal time (TT) (97.5 accumulated growing degree... |