We conducted two experiments to investigate the expression of shade avoidance in response to low ratios of red to far-red irradiation (R[ratio ]FR) in the C4 perennial grass Schizachyrium scoparium at two levels of above-ground (photosynthetic photon flux density (PFD) 400–700 nm) and below-ground (soil volume) resource availability and in plants of two ages. Young plants showed greater sheath and ramet height in response to low R[ratio ]FR and old plants showed reduced ramet initiation in experiments one and two, respectively, but both responses were not expressed simultaneously in either group. Growth of all ramet variables, including ramet initiation, was suppressed in small as opposed to large soil volumes. By contrast, architectural variables, but not ramet initiation, were greater for plants grown in low as opposed to ambient PFD. However, expression of shade avoidance to low R[ratio ]FR was not significantly affected by either level of PFD or soil volume. We must conclude that the levels of resource availability provided do not modulate shade avoidance in this perennial grass. These results demonstrate that S. scoparium is capable of expressing shade avoidance in response to low R[ratio ]FR, but inconsistent juvenile ramet initiation and architectural responses in plants of different ages and phenological stages of development indicate that the shade avoidance response might not be expressed consistently throughout the life of plants.

Eragrostis pilosa (Linn.) P Beauv., a C4 grass native to east Africa, was grown at both ambient (350 μmol mol−1 and elevated (700 μmol mol−1) CO2 in either the presence or absence of the obligate, root hemi-parasite Striga hermonthica (Del.) Benth. Biomass of infected grasses was only 50% that of uninfected grasses at both CO2 concentrations, with stems and reproductive tissues of infected plants being most severely affected. By contrast, CO2 concentration had no effect on growth of E. pilosa, although rates of photosynthesis were enhanced by 30–40% at elevated CO2. Infection with S. hermonthica did not affect either rates of photosynthesis or leaf areas of E. pilosa, but did bring about an increase in root[ratio ]shoot ratio, leaf nitrogen and phosphorus concentration and a decline in leaf starch concentration at both ambient and elevated CO2. Striga hermonthica had higher rates of photosynthesis and shoot concentrations of soluble sugars at elevated CO2, but there was no difference in biomass relative to ambient grown plants. Both infection and growth at elevated CO2 resulted in an increase in the Δ13C value of leaf tissue of E. pilosa, with the CO2 effect being greater. The proportion of host-derived carbon in parasite tissue, as determined from δ13C values, was 27% and 39% in ambient and elevated CO2 grown plants, respectively. In conclusion, infection with S. hermonthica limited growth of E. pilosa, and this limitation was not removed or alleviated by growing the association at elevated CO2.