- Title
- An investigation of the effects of stage of ensilage on Nassella neesiana seeds, for reducing seed viability and injury to livestock
- Creator
- Weller, Sandra; Florentine, Singarayer; Sillitoe, Jim; Grech, Charles; McLaren, David
- Date
- 2016
- Type
- Text; Journal article
- Identifier
- http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/100703
- Identifier
- vital:10588
- Identifier
-
https://doi.org/10.1038/srep22345
- Identifier
- ISSN:2045-2322
- Abstract
- The noxious weed Nassella neesiana is established on a wide range of productive land throughout southeastern Australia. N. neesiana seeds, when mature, are sharp, causing injury to livestock, thus posing a problem in fodder bales. To reduce infestations of agricultural weeds in situ, production of silage from weed-infested pastures is practised as part of integrated weed management (IWM). However, there is little data to demonstrate whether this process is useful to reduce infestations or the harmful properties of N. neesiana. Therefore, the minimum duration of ensilage required to reduce the viability of N. neesiana seeds was investigated, both with and without addition of ensilage inoculants in this process. Also, the decreasing propensity of the seeds to injure livestock, after various times and conditions of ensilage, was assessed. Ensilage inoculant reduced seed germination probability to zero after 35 days. When no inoculant was added, zero viability was achieved after 42 days. A qualitative assessment of the hardness of ensilaged seeds found seed husks were softer (and therefore safer) after 42 days, whether inoculant was used or not. Therefore, we suggest that both the viability of N. neesiana seeds and hardness of seed casings are significantly reduced after 42 days, thereby reducing the risks of seed dispersal and injury to livestock.
- Publisher
- Nature Publishing Group
- Relation
- Scientific Reports Vol. 6, no. (2016), p. 1-7
- Rights
- Copyright © The authors. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in the credit line; if the material is not included under the Creative Commons license, users will need to obtain permission from the license holder to reproduce the material. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
- Rights
- Open Access
- Rights
- This metadata is freely available under a CCO license
- Subject
- Nassella neesiana; Agricultural weed; Silage; Seed germination
- Full Text
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