PENGARUH SKARIFIKASI MENGGUNAKAN URIN KAMBING PADA BIJI GAMAL (Gliricida sepium) DENGAN WAKTU PERENDAMAN BERBEDA TERHADAP KUALITAS BENIH

This study aimed to determine the effect of scarification using goat urine with different soaking time on the quality of gamal seeds (Gliricidia sepium) and determine the best scarification treatment that produces normal sprouts and the best sprouts. This research was conducted in January 2020, located in the Laboratory of Animal Nutrition and Feed, Department of Animal Husbandry, Faculty of Agriculture, University of Lampung. This study used an experimental method using Completely Randomized Design with 5 treatments (control or without soaking, seed soaking for 4, 8, 12, and 16 hours) and 6 replications. Each trial unit received 30 seeds of Gamal. Data analysis was performed using the ANOVA continued by the least significant difference (LSD) test. The results showed that scarification of gamal seeds in goat urine at different times of soaking gave significantly effect (P <0.05) on germination, normal sprouts, dead seeds and hard seeds, but did not affect on abnormal sprouts and yield attacked by pests. The best scarification treatment for normal sprouts and sprouts rate was soaking for 16 hours, namely 60.00% and 47.73%, respectively. This results showed the longer soaking the seeds, the higher the germination and normal sprouts. Keywords: Gamal seeds, Goat urine, Scarification, Soaking time

A new passeriform (Aves: Passeriformes) from the early Oligocene of Poland sheds light on the beginnings of Suboscines

The paper describes a complete specimen of a passerine bird from the early Oligocene of Poland, preserved as imprints of bones and feathers on two slabs. Crosnoornis nargizia gen. et sp. nov. is just the fifth passerine species described from the Paleogene worldwide and the fourth complete. The features preserved in the distal elements of the wing exclude Acanthisittidae and Oscines and indicate that this bird can be included in Suboscines, making it the second complete representative of this group in the Paleogene. A strong, straight beak indicates that this bird could feed on a variety of foods, including hard seeds, fruit and invertebrates, and, therefore, occupied a different foraging niche than the Oligocene passerines described so far. The wing proportions, a very short tail and relatively long legs indicate that this bird spent most of its time in the forest, close to the ground in dense shrubs or dense tree crowns.

Preliminary studies on Tephrosia species: Effect of seed treatments on germination

Germination tests were conducted on the seeds of three species of Tephrosia (T. bracteolata, T. candida, and T. linearis) to investigate potential seedling establishment and possible pre-treatments to improve seed germination. Pre-culture treatments were: i) No treatment (control), ii) rubbed in sand paper, iii) soaking in boiled water for 30 seconds, iv) for 3 minutes, v) for 5 minutes, vi) soaking in concentrated sulphuric acid, and vii) soaking in water for 24 hours. After treatment, a total of two hundred and fifty seeds (5 replicates each of 50 seeds) were cultured on moist filter paper for 15 days. Cumulative percentage germination, percentage dormant seeds and germination rates were calculated. Seeds of all the species of Tephrosia exhibited innate dormancy at varying levels, but most pronounced in T. linearis. Soaking seeds in boiled water for 30 seconds to 5 minutes resulted in higher seed germination (p<0.05) than other pre-culture seed treatments in all the genotypes. Percentage hard seeds were also minimal in seeds treated this way, indicating effective dormancy alleviation in Tephrasia by these treatments. From the trial, soaking seeds in boiled water for 30 seconds is recommended as treatment of Tephrosia seeds to enhance germination and optimal potential seedling establishment.

The masked seducers: Lek courtship behavior in the wrinkle-faced bat Centurio senex (Phyllostomidae)

Centurio senex is an iconic bat characterized by a facial morphology deviating far from all other New World Leaf Nosed Bats (Phyllostomidae). The species has a bizarrely wrinkled face and lacks the characteristic nose leaf. Throughout its distribution from Mexico to Northern South America the species is most of the time rarely captured and only scarce information on its behavior and natural history is available. Centurio senex is frugivorous and one of the few bats documented to consume also hard seeds. Interestingly, the species shows a distinct sexual dimorphism: Adult males have more pronounced facial wrinkles than females and a fold of skin under the chin that can be raised in style of a face mask. We report the first observations on echolocation and mating behavior of Centurio senex, including synchronized audio and video recordings from an aggregation of males in Costa Rica. Over a period of 6 weeks we located a total of 53 perches, where during the first half of the night males were hanging with raised facial masks at a mean height of 2.35 m. Most of the time, the males moved just their wing tips, and spontaneously vocalized in the ultrasound range. Approaches of other individuals resulted in the perching male beating its wings and emitting a very loud, low frequency whistling call. Following such an encounter we recorded a copulation event. The observed aggregation of adult C. senex males is consistent with lek courtship, a behavior described from only few other bat species.

Germination of the invasive legume Lupinus polyphyllus depends on cutting date and seed morphology

In semi-natural grasslands, mowing leads to the dispersal of species that have viable seeds at the right time. For invasive plant species in grasslands, dispersal by mowing should be avoided, and information on the effect of cutting date on the germination of invasive species is needed. We investigated the germination of seeds of the invasive legume Lupinus polyphyllus Lindl. depending on the cutting date. We measured seed traits associated with successful germination that can be assessed by managers for an improved timing of control measures. To this end, we sampled seeds of L. polyphyllus on six cutting dates and analyzed the germination of these seeds in climate chambers and under ambient weather conditions. We collected information on seed morphology (color/size/hardseededness) for each cutting date to identify seed traits associated with successful germination. Observed germination patterns were highly asynchronous and differed between seeds cut at different dates. Seeds cut early, being green and soft, tended to germinate in autumn. Seeds cut late, being dark and hard, were more prone to germinate the following spring, after winter stratification. This allows the species to utilize germination niches throughout the year, thus indicating a bet-hedging strategy. Seed color and the percentage of hard seeds were good predictors of germination percentage, but not of mean germination time and synchrony. Managers should prevent the species producing black and hard seeds, while cutting plants carrying green and soft seeds is less problematic. Furthermore, germination patterns differed between climate chambers and the common garden, mainly because germination of dormant seeds was lower in climate chambers. More germination experiments under ambient weather conditions should be carried out, as they can give information on the germination dynamics of invasive species.

STUDY AND ESTIMATION OF COLLECTION VARIETY-SAMPLES WHITE CLOVER

New collection varieties of creeping clover (Trifolium repens L.) from the VIR collection of the 1970s were studied. Samples were evaluated according to the main morphological and biological characteristics, seed productivity and chemical indicators. After 50 years of storage under natural conditions, the samples had up to 71% of germinating seeds (31% of germinated + 40% of hard seeds). As a result of the study of collection variety samples, valuable sources for selection were identified, which allowed the best genotypes to be included in hybridization for the construction of hybrids with high feed and seed productivity. It is noted that in the State register of selection achievements, varieties of clover creeping foreign breeding make up 67%.

Germination of seeds of different vegetable beans cultivars obtained from diversified water replacements

The effect of water replenishment on the physiological quality and seed uniformity of Napoli and Contender bean cultivars harvested in May 2015 was studied; Contender and Japanese Yellow collected in the 2016 and 2017 harvests in the experimental area of the State University of Goiás - UEG. The experiment was installed in the Laboratory of Vegetable Production of UEG-GO. The sowing was done using four replicates of 50 seeds, distributed among three sheets of germitest paper, moistened with demineralized water. The rolls were taken to the germinator regulated at 25ºC. The experimental design was completely randomized with different cultivars, collection times and water replenishment, with 4 replicates. The germination indexes were evaluated; speed of germination; hard seeds; dormant and dead; index of seedlings with small defect; with secondary infection and intact seedlings. The physiological quality of the seeds was evaluated by means of the germination and vigor test and the results in percentage and the statistic using software R. Seeds from the different water replaces, cultivars and production times presented as promising for the cultivation in Ipameri-GO.

Biological control in the germination of seeds from two species native of the Cerrado region

Microorganisms have been efficiently used for the biological control of phytopathogens through the production of antimicrobial substances. However, the objectives of this work were: to study the germination of Butia purpurascens Glassman and Butia archeri Glassman seeds in different substrates, to select and identify the endophytic and rhizospheric bacterial isolates of B. purpurascens and B. archeri, and to perform antibiosis tests based on the isolated microorganisms of these tree species. No difference was found between the cultivation substrates for the percentages of germination, hard seeds, and fungal contamination in the B. purpurascens seeds. The Bacillus subtilis isolated showed the best capacity for suppressing the growth of the two deteriorative fungi tested in B. purpurascens seeds. No difference was found for inhibition of the growth of Aspergillus niger fungus (deteriorative fungus of B. archeri seeds) between the microorganisms with Bacillus sp. and Brevibacillus brevis compared to the control. In the microbiolization of B. purpurascens and B. archeri seeds performed with microbiological solutions produced from the endophytic and rhizospheric strains of Bacillus sp., no differences were observed in the percentages of germination and contamination by fungi. For B. archeri seeds, there was contamination by fungi and bacteria after one day of cultivation, primarily in the regions with lesions caused by the extraction and scarification process.

Development of new methods for increasing the germination of licorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch.) seeds: preliminary data

The licorice (Glycyrrhiza uralensis Fisch.) is cultivated as a valuable medicinal plant. It is grown from seeds, but 70-90% of its seeds are in deep physical dormancy (hard seeds) – do not swell and do not germinate without special treatment (scarification). We are searching for the most effective methods of such processing. We have studied the effect of hydrostatic pressure from 10 to 40 MPa (pressure treatment) on the licorice seeds to improve the swelling and germination of them, which belong to a pair of visually distinguished groups by the color of the seed coat. For the first time, it was found that olive-colored seeds do not germinate after pressure treatment (the number of hard seeds is 80% or more). At the same time, very high content (up to 90%) of swollen but non-viable seeds was detected in the group with a light brown color of the seed coat. Hydrostatic pressure levels used did not significantly reduce hard seeds proportion in studied licorice seed material. A weak positive effect of hydrostatic pressure treatment was found. Further search for optimal pressure treatment modes for licorice seeds germination increasing looks promising.