scholarly journals Fatal germination in barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli)

2013 ◽  
Vol 49 (No. 4) ◽  
pp. 193-197 ◽  
Author(s):  
Z. Martinková ◽  
A. Honěk

Seeds of weeds buried by tillage may germinate at depths from which seedlings cannot establish. In barnyardgrass (Echinochloa crus-galli) we investigated how fatal germination was influenced by the depth and time of seed burial. The proportion of germinated seeds decreased with burial depth to 0–20% at ≥ 0.1 m depth which is fatal for seedling establishment. The percentage of fatal germination was greater for the seeds buried during the spring season than during autumn. Germination was influenced by seed pre-treatment, after ripening or stratification. Spring ploughing of non-dormant seeds below 0.1 m depth induces fatal germination, decreasing in this way seed bank of barnyardgrass.

2005 ◽  
Vol 53 (6) ◽  
pp. 529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kazuo Tobe ◽  
Xiaoming Li ◽  
Kenji Omasa

Haloxylon ammodendron (C.A. Mey) Bunge (Chenopodiaceae) is a shrub occurring on desert sand dunes in China. Seedling emergence and seedling survival were investigated by sowing seeds at different depths (0, 2.5, 5.0 or 10 mm) in fine or coarse sand in pots irrigated under different regimes. Seed burial in sand was required for seedling establishment of this species. Seedling emergence depended greatly on seed burial depth, sand type, and irrigation regime; this appeared to be due to (1) seeds or seedlings suffering from oxygen or moisture deficiency depending on the air : moisture ratio in sand, and/or (2) higher moisture content in sand resulting in hardening of the sand and obstruction of seedling growth. Increased irrigation resulted in longer survival of emerging seedlings because sand was moistened more deeply, and moisture in deeper sand persisted longer. The results suggest that the infrequent and light precipitation common in desert environments is likely to cause germination of many of the buried seeds, but is insufficient for emerging seedlings to survive. It is suggested that water from melting snow in early spring is crucial in enabling seedling establishment of this species in the deserts of China.


2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (2) ◽  
pp. 338-347
Author(s):  
Rouhollah Amini ◽  
Atefeh Ebrahimi ◽  
Adel Dabbagh Mohammadi Nasab

2017 ◽  
Vol 57 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-175 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petra S. Yehnjong ◽  
Michael S. Zavada ◽  
Chris Liu

AbstractSoil seed banks are important to the maintenance and restoration of floras. Extant seed banks exhibit unique characteristics with regard to the distribution of seed size and seed density. Seeds were recovered from the Upper Pennsylvanian Wise Formation in southwest Virginia. Structurally preserved seeds were also examined from coal balls of the Pennsylvanian Pottsville and Allegheny Groups, Ohio. The size distribution of the seeds from the Wise Formation is similar to that of structurally preserved seeds of the Upper Pennsylvanian Pottsville and Allegheny Group coal balls. In contrast, the seed size distributions in extant wetland, grassland, woodland and forest habitats are significantly narrower than that of seeds from the Pennsylvanian seed banks. Larger seeds are less dependent on light for germination, and aid in seedling establishment more than smaller seeds, especially in dense stable forests where disturbance events are rare. Large seed size may contribute to increased seed longevity, which reduces the effect of environmental variability on seed germination and development. The significantly larger size of the Palaeozoic seeds may have imparted an advantage for seedling establishment in the dense Palaeozoic forests. The preponderance of large seeds may be a result of the absence of large seed predators (e.g. herbivorous tetrapods), and may have been an evolutionary strategy to minimize damage to the embryo from a predator population dominated by small invertebrates with chewing or sucking mouthparts. The estimated seed density of 192 seeds/m2in the Palaeozoic seed bank falls within the range of modern seed banks, but at the lower end of modern seed bank densities in a variety of habitats.


2016 ◽  
Vol 283 (1844) ◽  
pp. 20161634 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah M. Griffiths ◽  
Richard D. Bardgett ◽  
Julio Louzada ◽  
Jos Barlow

Anthropogenic activities are causing species extinctions, raising concerns about the consequences of changing biological communities for ecosystem functioning. To address this, we investigated how dung beetle communities influence seed burial and seedling recruitment in the Brazilian Amazon. First, we conducted a burial and retrieval experiment using seed mimics. We found that dung beetle biomass had a stronger positive effect on the burial of large than small beads, suggesting that anthropogenic reductions in large-bodied beetles will have the greatest effect on the secondary dispersal of large-seeded plant species. Second, we established mesocosm experiments in which dung beetle communities buried Myrciaria dubia seeds to examine plant emergence and survival. Contrary to expectations, we found that beetle diversity and biomass negatively influenced seedling emergence, but positively affected the survival of seedlings that emerged. Finally, we conducted germination trials to establish the optimum burial depth of experimental seeds, revealing a negative relationship between burial depth and seedling emergence success. Our results provide novel evidence that seed burial by dung beetles may be detrimental for the emergence of some seed species. However, we also detected positive impacts of beetle activity on seedling recruitment, which are probably because of their influence on soil properties. Overall, this study provides new evidence that anthropogenic impacts on dung beetle communities could influence the structure of tropical forests; in particular, their capacity to regenerate and continue to provide valuable functions and services.


Weed Science ◽  
1996 ◽  
Vol 44 (4) ◽  
pp. 884-889 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis E. Northam ◽  
Robert H. Callihan ◽  
Michelle M. Puchalski

This study documented an undescribed aspect of medusahead germination behavior. Fibrous hairs were consistently observed growing from the coleorhizal surface of germinating medusahead seeds. Three medusahead accessions were investigated to determine temperature effects on coleorhizal hair growth and germination. Coleorhizal hair emergence at 8 C was first noted at 72 h. By 24 h at 18 C, 15 to 74% of seeds had hairs, and at 28 C, hairs were visible on 75 to 94% of seeds. Germination at 18 and 28 C was 80% at 96 h; germination at 8 C did not exceed 80% until 168 h. Less than 4% of germinated seeds were without coleorhizal hairs. Appearance of coleorhizal hairs confirmed that germinating medusahead embryos were active at least 72 h before germination was complete. These data affirm coleorhizal hairs are a normal part of medusahead germination biology. Coleorhizal hairs probably aid early phases of medusahead seedling establishment.


Weed Science ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 38 (6) ◽  
pp. 518-521 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert E. Blackshaw

A study was conducted under controlled environmental conditions to determine the effect of soil temperature, soil moisture, and depth of seed burial on the emergence of round-leaved mallow. Emergence occurred from 5 to 30 C but was optimal at 15 to 20 C. Soil moisture had a greater effect than soil temperature on percentage emergence. Emergence progressively declined below a soil water content of −0.28 MPa, with less than 20% emergence attained at −1.03 to −1.53 MPa. In contrast, rate of emergence of round-leaved mallow was affected more by soil temperature than by moisture. A decrease in temperature from 30 to 5 C increased the time to reach 50% emergence by 10 to 12 days over the moisture regime of this study. Emergence was greatest at depths of 0.5 to 2 cm. No emergence occurred at 8 cm or below. The potential of using the findings of this study to develop cultural control strategies for round-leaved mallow is discussed.


2013 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 100-113 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica O'Donnell ◽  
Kirstie Fryirs ◽  
Michelle R. Leishman

2013 ◽  
Vol 31 (2) ◽  
pp. 267-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
E. Soltani ◽  
A. Soltani ◽  
S. Galeshi ◽  
F. Ghaderi-Far ◽  
E. Zeinali

Studies were conducted to estimate parameters and relationships associated with sub-processes in soil seed banks of oilseed rape in Gorgan, Iran. After one month of burial, seed viability decreased to 39%, with a slope of 2.03% per day, and subsequently decreased with a lower slope of 0.01 until 365 days following burial in the soil. Germinability remained at its highest value in autumn and winter and decreased from spring to the last month of summer. Non-dormant seeds of volunteer oilseed rape did not germinate at temperatures lower than 3.8 ºC and a water potential of -1.4 MPa ºd. The hydrothermal values were 36.2 and 42.9 MPa ºd for sub- and supra-optimal temperatures, respectively. Quantification of seed emergence as influenced by burial depth was performed satisfactorily (R² = 0.98 and RMSE = 5.03). The parameters and relationships estimated here can be used for modelling soil seed bank dynamics or establishing a new model for the environment.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (11) ◽  
pp. e112579 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao Wen Hu ◽  
Yan Pei Wu ◽  
Xing Yu Ding ◽  
Rui Zhang ◽  
Yan Rong Wang ◽  
...  

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