The lesser stem height, collar diameter, and panicle length in
the plants irrigated with well water compared to those irrigated
with sewage effluent were probably attributable to the
lower availability of nutrients, which may have negatively affected
cell enlargement (and consequently, leaf size and leaf
surface area) (Boyer, 1988). The increase in vegetative growth
parameters suggested that applied treatments influenced the
physiological processes, facilitated early leaf initiation, and
resulted in a net increase in the number of leaves. The increase
in the number of leaves may have facilitated the capture
of more solar energy for metabolic use, fixed more
CO2, and produced greater photosynthates and growth. This
hypothesis is supported by Ceulemans et al. (1993) and
Myers et al. (1996)