Spatial variation in seed production among and within sites and within individuals of Thalictrum thalictroides (Ranunculaceae)

1986 ◽  
Vol 64 (3) ◽  
pp. 658-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne E. Lubbers

Spatial variation in seed and ovule numbers and percent seed set is described for three populations of the perennial herb Thalictrum thalictroides. Total ovule number of an individual was positively correlated with its seed number, but correlations between ovule number and percent seed set were negative or nonsignificant. Ovule and seed numbers, and to some extent percent seed set, varied among flower positions and inflorescences within plants. Within sites, log-normal distributions of total seed number indicate that a few individuals contributed a large number of seeds relative to the rest of the population. At two sites high values of percent seed set suggest that factors that determine ovule number can be at least as critical to variation in seed number as other factors acting later on. Quadrat reproductive means were not correlated from one year to the next, implying that the relative favorability of certain quadrats is not consistent among years. Sites varied in their reproductive means as well as in their frequency distribution of percent seed set, indicating that the importance of initial ovule number to final seed number per plant not only varies among species as is commonly observed but within as well.


2003 ◽  
Vol 81 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-27 ◽  
Author(s):  
José L Vesprini ◽  
Leonardo Galetto ◽  
Gabriel Bernardello

Dyckia floribunda is a perennial herb from the Argentinian Chaco with extrafloral nectaries. Ants visited these nectaries while patrolling inflorescences and infructescences. We anticipated that ants attracted to extrafloral nectaries might protect the reproductive organs, increasing plant reproductive output. To evaluate the possibility of mutualism between D. floribunda and ant visitors, we determined whether ant-accessible plants showed a higher seed production than ant-excluded plants. Experimental fieldwork suggested a decrease in fruit set of ant-excluded plants compared with ant-accessible plants but the seed number per fruit was not affected by ant exclusion. Thus, total seed number per plant was highly reduced in treated spikes. Analyses of covariance confirmed these trends, indicating that total seed production per plant was strongly affected by ant exclusion. This study marks the first experimental report of this mutualistic association in Bromeliaceae.Key words: ant–plant interaction, Bromeliaceae, Chaco, Dyckia floribunda, fruit set, seed set, mutualism.



HortScience ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 54 (10) ◽  
pp. 1728-1736
Author(s):  
Bernadine C. Strik ◽  
Amanda J. Vance

The relationship between individual berry weight and viable seed number of small- (<15 mm), medium- (15–19 mm), and large-diameter (>19 mm) berries was studied over 2 years in nine cultivars (Aurora, Bluecrop, Bluegold, Draper, Duke, Liberty, Legacy, Ozarkblue, and Reka) through their harvest seasons. Plants were grown with two different preplant amendment-mulch treatments, but this treatment had no effect on the variables measured, so data were pooled. The highest average seeds/berry was in ‘Bluecrop’ (55.5) and ‘Duke’ (50.0) and the lowest in ‘Bluegold’ (17.1), ‘Aurora’ (22.5), and ‘Liberty’ (23.5). Average berry weight over the fruiting season ranged from 1.79 and 1.80 g for ‘Liberty’ and ‘Reka’, respectively, to 2.30 and 2.44 g in ‘Ozarkblue’ and ‘Draper’, respectively. The average number of seeds/berry was higher in 2010 than in 2009 for all cultivars, ranging from 14% higher in ‘Reka’ to 96% higher in ‘Liberty’. The flowering period was earlier in 2010 than in 2009, but bloom was concentrated in 2009 (28 days) compared with 2010 (45 days), likely affecting pollinator success. In general, seeds/berry and berry weight declined through the harvest season. Some cultivars had a considerable difference in the number of seeds in large-sized than in small-sized berries (e.g., 89%, 107%, 108%, and 147% more seeds in ‘Aurora’, ‘Reka’, ‘Bluegold’, and ‘Liberty’, respectively), whereas others had relatively little difference (14% and 36% in ‘Draper’ and ‘Bluecrop’, respectively). There was a linear relationship between berry weight and viable seeds/berry. Cultivars did not differ in the berry weight per seed (slope of the line) between the 2 years, except for ‘Draper’ (only significant in 2009), ‘Legacy’, and ‘Reka’. ‘Bluegold’ had the greatest berry weight per seed and ‘Reka’ the lowest. The weakest relationship between berry weight and seed number was in ‘Draper’. Cultivars that produced parthenocarpic fruit of marketable size were ‘Aurora’, ‘Bluegold’, and ‘Liberty’. ‘Duke’, ‘Legacy’, ‘Reka’, and ‘Ozarkblue’ produced commercially acceptable fruit (0.75–1.0 g) with fewer than 7 seeds/berry. By contrast, some cultivars required a relatively large number of seeds to produce a berry including ‘Bluecrop’ (28–40 seeds), ‘Draper’ (15–23 seeds), and ‘Legacy’ in 2010 (20 seeds). The number of seeds per berry accounted for as much as 87% of the variability in berry weight indicating the importance of good pollination and seed set for berry weight and yield in these cultivars.



1970 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Bista ◽  
G. B. Khattri ◽  
B. D. Acharya ◽  
S. C. Srivastava

To find out the ability of Orobanche seeds to germinate immediately after seed set, seeds were germinated periodically at an interval of three months for one year in GR24. Some Orobanche seeds were capable of germination immediately after seed set but most required about nine months as after ripening or incubation period to be able to germinate. The phenomenon of after ripening in Orobanche seeds could be taken as an ecological measure to dormant over following unfavorable wet summer season. The growth hormone studies on Orobanche seed germination have shown that GA3 at a concentration of 100 ppm substantially enhanced seed germination when applied during pre-conditioning period. NAA showed some stimulatory effect at 0.5 - 1.0 ppm when applied during post-conditioning period but the hormone if applied during pre-conditioning period inhibited the germination. Kinetin failed to stimulate the germination at all the concentrations tested. Key words: Germination, root-parasite, hormone. Ecoprint Vol.11(1) 2004.





1972 ◽  
Vol 52 (6) ◽  
pp. 1067-1072 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. C. J. VAN ADRICHEM

Several population samples of Rubus idaeus subspp. strigosus Michx. (raspberries) were collected in British Columbia and northern Alberta and a number of characters were studied and compared with the cultivar Trent. Significant differences between populations were found for cane length, number of buds per cane, percentage of buds growing, number of inflorescences and flowers per bud, fruit and seed weight. There was a positive correlation between the total seed weight and the number of seeds, and between the total seed and fruit weight. No distinct types could be established based on location or elevation. None of the populations showed significantly better winter hardiness than the cultivar Trent, and although some had a specific character that was superior, none was found to have overall superiority.



1984 ◽  
Vol 93 (6) ◽  
pp. 591-598 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandeep K Malhotra


2020 ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Morgana Maria Arcanjo Bruno ◽  
Klécia Gili Massi ◽  
Alexander V. Christianini ◽  
John du Vall Hay

Abstract Predispersal seed predation is one of the main causes of seed mortality in plant populations, contributing to decreased plant recruitment. Seed loss has previously been found to be related to crop size. Thus, we examined the influence of individual crop size on predispersal seed predation by beetles in the palm Syagrus flexuosa in the Brazilian savanna. The study was carried out in three tropical woodland savanna sites, where we sampled the total seed crop of 46 fruiting palms and checked the presence of beetle larvae inside all seeds per plant. We observed predispersal seed predation of S. flexuosa from all sites and a high variation in the number of seeds preyed on per individual palm. Crop size had a positive influence on the number of seeds lost to predispersal seed predators. Variations in levels of predispersal seed predation may also be accounted for by the reproductive phenology of S. flexuosa. If fruits are not available at the same time, less resource is available for predators and therefore a high proportion of seeds may be preyed on. Thus, our study demonstrates that an individual plant trait, crop size, is an important predictor of beetle seed damage per palm and a driver of the number of seeds lost to predispersal seed predators.



1997 ◽  
Vol 75 (2) ◽  
pp. 332-335 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael A. Setterington ◽  
Daniel M. Keppie

Relationships between external cone characteristics (length, width, wet and dry mass), cone quality (total seed mass as a proportion of cone mass, total number of seeds per cone, total seed mass per cone), and number of cones in caches were evaluated for caches of jack pine (Pinus banksiana) cones belonging to red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) in two plantations in southern New Brunswick. Cone length and mass were good predictors of the total number of seeds per cone and total seed mass per cone. Length accounted for a small proportion of the variance of total seed mass as a proportion of cone mass. There was no relationship between the number of seeds or total seed mass per cone and the number of cones per cache.



2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 200-204
Author(s):  
Subhash B. Kandakoor ◽  
Jitendra Kumar S. Hilli

The activity of bees pollination in onion was observed throughout the day. Numerically maximum activity was observed during afternoon hours (12.00 to 2.00 PM) with 7.00 numbers in rock bee, 5.40 in Indian bees, 11.60 in little bees and 7.80 in case of dammer be, respectively. Among the four species of bees, little bees were more in entire day with highest of 111.60 bees/10 inflorescence/ minute followed by dammer bee with 9.40 bees/10 inflorescence/ minute, Among the bees major contributor was little bee, this may be due to more colonies of little bees in that area and destruction of rock bee colonies. Also, the bee acitivty was observed maximum number at 100 per cent flowering stage. The observations on number of seeds per umbel, 1000 seed weight and per cent germination under the laboratory conditions. The results clearly indicated that, maximum number of seeds per umbel was observed in open pollinated flowers with 339.30 ± 60.27 seeds per umber where all the four species of bees were made visits regularly followed by in case of pollination in mesh cloth cage with bees with 330.00±35.80 and very least number of seed set was observed in case of pollination in mesh cloth cage without bees with only 60.70 seeds/umbel. Similarly, 1000 seed weight also differed significantly in case of pollination with bees and without bees. In case of with bees it weighed around 3.37 g/1000 seeds followed by 3.10 g/1000 seeds in onion with bee cage and least in case of control with only 1.97 g/1000 seeds.



1997 ◽  
Vol 57 (1-4) ◽  
pp. 183-200 ◽  
Author(s):  
C.Thomas Philbrick ◽  
R. Alejandro Novelo


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