Seed Mass and Germination Behaviour in Populations of the Dune-building Grass Leymus arenarius

1995 ◽  
Vol 76 (5) ◽  
pp. 493-501 ◽  
Author(s):  
S Greipsson
1989 ◽  
Vol 67 (9) ◽  
pp. 2743-2750 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. A. Maun ◽  
A. M. Payne

To ascertain the adaptive significance of dimorphism under unpredictable environments, the dimorphic fruit segments of Cakile edentula var. lacustris, Cakile edentula var. edentula, and Cakile maritima were tested for differences in size of propagules, dispersal ability, germination behaviour, and growth rate. The upper and lower fruit segments differed in some attributes but not in others. For example, the fruits, seeds, and shells of upper segments were significantly heavier than those of lower segments. However, the frequency distributions of mean mass per seed, shell, and fruit indicated a considerable zone of overlap beneath the histograms of upper and lower fruit segments. Under still conditions in a greenhouse, no differences were found in the floating ability of upper and lower fruit segments of C. edentula var. lacustris and C. maritima. Of the three taxa, C. maritima fruits had the highest shell to seed mass ratio and floated for the longest period of time. Morphological seed dimorphism was linked with a physiological seed dimorphism. The lower fruit segments of C. edentula var. lacustris germinated better than the upper fruit segments over a wider range of temperatures. Light did not alter the final germination percentage of upper or lower fruit segments but inhibited the rate of germination. The relative growth rate decreased in all three taxa with an increase in the age of a seedling, irrespective of its seed weight.


Plant Ecology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 221 (11) ◽  
pp. 1045-1067
Author(s):  
Vera Margreiter ◽  
Konrad Pagitz ◽  
Christian Berg ◽  
Patrick Schwager ◽  
Brigitta Erschbamer

Abstract Storing seeds in seed banks is an effective way to preserve plant diversity and conserve species. An essential step towards a valuable conservation is the validation of germination. This study presents a germination screening of seeds from 255 species of the European Eastern Alps, which were to be stored at the Millennium Seed Bank (Kew, UK). The final germination percentage (FGP) was determined using a standard protocol in the laboratory. Species were classified according to species rarity, plant community, occurrence at elevation belts, bedrock types, as well as CSR strategies, and further, seed mass was examined. We could not find statistically significant differences of FGP within these classes, but 74.9% of all tested species germinated using the standard protocol, and half of them had FGP ≥ 20.1–100%. A treatment with gibberellic acid enhanced the germination in half of the species to which this treatment was applied. Common families in alpine regions, i.e. Asteraceae, Poaceae and Saxifragaceae were highlighted in terms of their germination behaviour. The results provide an evaluation of the application of standard protocols to a broad Alpine species pool on the one hand, and on the other hand, provide ecological insights of the species tested. Germination is not only one of the most important events of the reproductive cycle of plants but could also be a key feature in species' responses to changing environmental conditions.


Author(s):  
Andrea Veselá ◽  
Lien Duongová ◽  
Zuzana Münzbergová

AbstractAlthough number of studies exploring effects of climate change on plants is increasing, only few studies pay attention to germination. Understanding of germination behaviour is complicated by impact of climate on seed mass and possibly also seed nutrients, which play irreplaceable role in nourishing the sprout. The germination behaviour of species may also depend on trade-off between generative and vegetative reproduction.We studied Festuca rubra originating from localities situated along a natural climatic grid. Seeds of different origin were germinated in two temperature and two moisture regimes, simulating the extremes of the grid. To study relationship between generative and vegetative reproduction we used data on vegetative traits originating from the same study system.Seed mass and nutrient concentrations (nitrogen and phosphorus) were significantly affected by original climate, while carbohydrates not. Higher seed mass and warm temperature of origin caused higher and faster germination. Warm and dry condition during germination caused the lowest germination but the highest seed viability. Total germination and proportion of viable seeds negatively correlated with plant performance variables contributing to vegetative reproduction. Despite this, the patterns detected using datasets of germination and plant performance, did not provide fully comparable results.Simulated changes in climatic condition can modify seed mass and seed nutrients and these changes translate into changes in species germination behavior. After accounting for seed mass, both original and target conditions determine species germination indicating that both genetic differentiation as well as actual conditions drive the germination patterns. As the patterns detected at the level of seed germination do not fully match those detected for the vegetative traits, we urge that future studies should focus on multiple stages of plant life to understand species responses to future climates.


2000 ◽  
Vol 151 (11) ◽  
pp. 417-424 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ernst Zürcher

Ancient forest utilization regulations regarding felling dates and wood use are compared to the moon cycles. Furthermore, moon-phase related investigations with regard to germination behaviour, insect infestation and durability of the wood are presented.


Processes ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 711
Author(s):  
Zdzisław Kaliniewicz ◽  
Dariusz J. Choszcz

Viburnum is a genus of colorful and ornamental plants popular in landscape design on account of their high esthetic appeal. The physical properties of viburnum seeds have not been investigated in the literature to date. Therefore, the aim of this study was to characterize the seeds of selected Viburnum species and to search for potential relationships between their physical attributes for the needs of seed sorting operations. The basic physical parameters of the seeds of six Viburnum species were measured, and the relationships between these attributes were determined in correlation and regression analyses. The average values of the evaluated parameters were determined in the following range: terminal velocity—from 5.6 to 7.9 m s−1, thickness—from 1.39 to 1.87 mm, width—from 3.59 to 6.33 mm, length—from 5.58 to 7.44 mm, angle of external friction—from 36.7 to 43.8°, mass—from 16.7 to 35.0 mg. The seeds of V. dasyanthum, V. lentago and V. sargentii should be sorted in air separators, and the seeds of V. lantana and V. opulus should be processed with the use of mesh screens with round apertures to obtain uniform size fractions. The seeds of V. rhytodophyllum cannot be effectively sorted into batches with uniform seed mass, but they can be separated into groups with similar dimensions.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ajibola B. Oyedeji ◽  
Olajide P. Sobukola ◽  
Ezekiel Green ◽  
Oluwafemi A. Adebo

AbstractThe physical properties and water absorption kinetics of three varieties of Mucuna beans (Mucuna pruriens, Mucuna rajada and Mucuna veracruz) were determined in this study. Physical properties including length, width, thickness, geometric mean diameter, sphericity, porosity, bulk density, area, volume and one thousand seed mass were calculated while hydration kinetics was studied by soaking Mucuna beans in water at 30 °C, 40 °C and 50 °C and measuring water uptake at 9 h interval. Peleg’s equation was used to model the hydration characteristics and Arrhenius equation was used to describe the effect of temperature on Peleg’s rate constant k1 and to obtain the activation energies for soaking. Significant variations were observed in almost all the physical properties of the different varieties, however, there were no significant differences (p < 0.05) in their thicknesses and bulk densities. The effectiveness of fit of Peleg’s model (R2) increased with increase in soaking temperature. Peleg’s rate constant k1 decreased with increase in soaking temperature while k2 increased with temperature increase. Activation energies of Mucuna pruriens, Mucuna rajada and Mucuna veracruz were 1613.24 kJ/mol, 747.95 kJ/mol and 2743.64 kJ/mol, respectively. This study provides useful information about the properties of three varieties of Mucuna beans that could be of importance to processors and engineers for process design and optimization.


Agronomy ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (12) ◽  
pp. 2012
Author(s):  
Samantha Jo Grimes ◽  
Filippo Capezzone ◽  
Peteh Mehdi Nkebiwe ◽  
Simone Graeff-Hönninger

Rising consumer attraction towards superfoods and the steadily increasing demand for healthy, environmentally sustainable, and regionally produced food products has sharpened the demand for chia. Over the course of 4 years, two early flowering chia varieties belonging to Salvia hispanica L., and Salvia columbariae Benth. Species were identified to complete their phenological development and, therefore, able to reach maturity under a photoperiod >12 h, thus enabling the cultivation of chia in central Europe—more specifically, in southwestern Germany—consistently for the first time. Results obtained by the conducted field trial in 2018 showed that chia seed yields and thousand-seed mass ranged from 284.13 to 643.99 kg ha−1 and 0.92 to 1.36 g, respectively. Further, the statistical analyses showed that the protein content of the cultivated chia varieties ranged from 22.14 to 27.78%, the mucilage content varied from 10.35 to 20.66%, and the crude oil content amounted up to 28.00 and 31.73%. Fatty acid profiles were similar to previously reported data with α-Linolenic acid being the most prominent one, ranging from 60.40 to 65.87%, and we obtained ω6:ω3 ratios between 0.2 and 0.3. In conclusion, chia could represent a promising raw material from a nutritional point of view, while being able to diversify the local food basis of southwestern Germany.


1979 ◽  
Vol 57 (15) ◽  
pp. 1663-1667 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Jana ◽  
S. N. Acharya ◽  
J. M. Naylor

Breeding experiments were performed with pure lines of Avena fatua differing characteristically in duration of primary seed dormancy. The results indicate that the parental lines differ for at least three genes controlling rate of afterripening. It is evident that at least two of these genes influence the rate of afterripening at different periods after seed maturation.


1995 ◽  
Vol 46 (5) ◽  
pp. 1027 ◽  
Author(s):  
FP Smith ◽  
PS Cocks ◽  
MA Ewing

Cluster clover is a widely distributed and ecologically successful introduced legume in southern Australia. In an attempt to understand the role of genetic variation in this success, morphological and physiological traits were measured in 94 accessions from southern Australia and 6 from the Mediterranean basin. Flowering time ranged from 105 to 185 days after sowing, but was not strongly correlated with annual rainfall or length of growing season at the site of collection. Variation in other traits partitioned the populations into two morphs which, apart from flowering time and leaf marker, were largely homogeneous. The morphs differed significantly in floret number per inflorescence (22 v. 32-37) and seed mass (379 8g v. 523 8g), had different growth habits and strong within-morph associations between leaf markers and stipule and petal coloration. The morphs differed in their distributions within southern Australia and the pattern of distribution was related to summer maximum temperatures, winter minimum temperatures and spring rainfall. These results demonstrate that genetic variation has been important to the success of cluster clover and suggests that the variation is organized. The pattern of variation observed and its relationship to ecogeography is consistent with findings for other highly inbreeding species. A map of the species distribution in Western Australia is presented.


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