Lower dormancy with rapid germination is an important strategy for seeds in an arid zone with unpredictable rainfall
- Duncan, Corrine, Schultz, Nick, Lewandrowski, Wolfgang, Good, Megan, Cook, Simon
- Authors: Duncan, Corrine , Schultz, Nick , Lewandrowski, Wolfgang , Good, Megan , Cook, Simon
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: PLoS ONE Vol. 14, no. 9 (2019), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Seed germination traits are key drivers of population dynamics, yet they are under-represented in community ecology studies, which have predominately focussed on adult plant and seed morphological traits. We studied the seed traits and germination strategy of eight woody plant species to investigate regeneration strategies in the arid zone of eastern Australia. To cope with stochastic and minimal rainfall, we predict that arid seeds will either have rapid germination across a wide range of temperatures, improved germination under cooler temperatures, or dormancy and/or longevity traits to delay or stagger germination across time. To understand how temperature affects germination responses, seeds of eight keystone arid species were germinated under laboratory conditions, and under three diurnal temperatures (30/20°C, 25/15°C and 17/7°C) for 30 days. We also tested for decline in seed viability across 24 months in a dry-aging treatment (
- Authors: Duncan, Corrine , Schultz, Nick , Lewandrowski, Wolfgang , Good, Megan , Cook, Simon
- Date: 2019
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: PLoS ONE Vol. 14, no. 9 (2019), p.
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Seed germination traits are key drivers of population dynamics, yet they are under-represented in community ecology studies, which have predominately focussed on adult plant and seed morphological traits. We studied the seed traits and germination strategy of eight woody plant species to investigate regeneration strategies in the arid zone of eastern Australia. To cope with stochastic and minimal rainfall, we predict that arid seeds will either have rapid germination across a wide range of temperatures, improved germination under cooler temperatures, or dormancy and/or longevity traits to delay or stagger germination across time. To understand how temperature affects germination responses, seeds of eight keystone arid species were germinated under laboratory conditions, and under three diurnal temperatures (30/20°C, 25/15°C and 17/7°C) for 30 days. We also tested for decline in seed viability across 24 months in a dry-aging treatment (
Effect of environmental factors on the germination and emergence of Salvia verbenaca L. cultivars (verbenaca and vernalis) : An invasive species in semi-arid and arid rangeland regions
- Javaid, Muhammad, Florentine, Singarayer, Ali, Hafiz, Weller, Sandra
- Authors: Javaid, Muhammad , Florentine, Singarayer , Ali, Hafiz , Weller, Sandra
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: PLoS ONE Vol. 13, no. 3 (2018), p. 1-20
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Salvia verbenaca (wild sage) is a commonly cultivated herbal medicine plant, which is native to the Mediterranean climate regions of Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. However, it has become an invasive species in semi-arid and arid regions of southern Australia. Two varieties are present in this region, var. verbenaca and var. vernalis, each of which can be distinguished by differences in morphology and flowering period. Following trials to determine the optimum temperate regime for germination and response to light and dark, seeds of both varieties were tested for their response to variations in pH, moisture stress, salinity, and burial depth. The temperature and light trial was carried out using three different temperature regimes; 30/20C, 25/15C and 20/12C, and two light regimes; 12 hours light/12 hours dark and 24 hours dark, with var. vernalis responding to relatively higher temperatures than var. verbenaca. The germination rate of neither species was significantly inhibited by complete darkness when compared to rates under periodic light exposure. Both varieties germinated at near optimum rates strongly to very strongly in all pH buffer solutions, from pH 5 to pH 10, but they responded most strongly at neutral pH. Var. vernalis showed slightly more tolerance to reduced moisture availability, moderate to strong salinity, and burial depth, compared to var. verbenaca. However, even a fairly shallow burial depth of 2 cm completely inhibited germination of both varieties. Thus, in circumstances where both varieties are present in a soil seedbank, var. vernalis could be expected to establish in more challenging conditions, where moisture is limited and salinity is ‘moderate to high’, implying that it is a more serious threat for invasive weed in conditions where crop plants are already challenged.
- Authors: Javaid, Muhammad , Florentine, Singarayer , Ali, Hafiz , Weller, Sandra
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: PLoS ONE Vol. 13, no. 3 (2018), p. 1-20
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Salvia verbenaca (wild sage) is a commonly cultivated herbal medicine plant, which is native to the Mediterranean climate regions of Europe, Africa, Asia and the Middle East. However, it has become an invasive species in semi-arid and arid regions of southern Australia. Two varieties are present in this region, var. verbenaca and var. vernalis, each of which can be distinguished by differences in morphology and flowering period. Following trials to determine the optimum temperate regime for germination and response to light and dark, seeds of both varieties were tested for their response to variations in pH, moisture stress, salinity, and burial depth. The temperature and light trial was carried out using three different temperature regimes; 30/20C, 25/15C and 20/12C, and two light regimes; 12 hours light/12 hours dark and 24 hours dark, with var. vernalis responding to relatively higher temperatures than var. verbenaca. The germination rate of neither species was significantly inhibited by complete darkness when compared to rates under periodic light exposure. Both varieties germinated at near optimum rates strongly to very strongly in all pH buffer solutions, from pH 5 to pH 10, but they responded most strongly at neutral pH. Var. vernalis showed slightly more tolerance to reduced moisture availability, moderate to strong salinity, and burial depth, compared to var. verbenaca. However, even a fairly shallow burial depth of 2 cm completely inhibited germination of both varieties. Thus, in circumstances where both varieties are present in a soil seedbank, var. vernalis could be expected to establish in more challenging conditions, where moisture is limited and salinity is ‘moderate to high’, implying that it is a more serious threat for invasive weed in conditions where crop plants are already challenged.
Germination ecology of Chloris truncata and its implication for weed management
- Chauhan, Bhagirath, Manalil, Sudheesh, Florentine, Singarayer, Jha, Prashant
- Authors: Chauhan, Bhagirath , Manalil, Sudheesh , Florentine, Singarayer , Jha, Prashant
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: PLoS ONE Vol. 13, no. 7 (2018), p. 1-13
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Chloris truncata is a significant weed in summer crops in the subtropical region of Australia. A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of environmental factors on germination and emergence of two populations of C. truncata. Overall, germination was not affected by the populations. Seeds germinated at a wide range of alternating day/night temperatures, suggesting that seeds can germinate throughout the spring, winter and autumn seasons. Seed germination was stimulated by the presence of light; however, 51 to 71% of these seeds still germinated in the dark. The sodium chloride concentration and osmotic potential required to inhibit germination of 50% of the population were 179 mM and -0.52 MPa, respectively. A high proportion of seeds germinated over a wide pH range (4 to 10). Seeds placed on the soil surface had greatest germination (67%) and a burial depth of 3 cm resulted in complete inhibition of emergence. The sorghum residue amount required to reduce emergence by 50% was 1.8 t ha-1. The results suggest that, although this weed will be favored in no-till systems, residue retention on the soil surface will help in reducing its infestation. Seed bank buildup can be managed by burying seeds below the depth of emergence. © 2018 Chauhan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
- Authors: Chauhan, Bhagirath , Manalil, Sudheesh , Florentine, Singarayer , Jha, Prashant
- Date: 2018
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: PLoS ONE Vol. 13, no. 7 (2018), p. 1-13
- Full Text:
- Reviewed:
- Description: Chloris truncata is a significant weed in summer crops in the subtropical region of Australia. A study was conducted to evaluate the effect of environmental factors on germination and emergence of two populations of C. truncata. Overall, germination was not affected by the populations. Seeds germinated at a wide range of alternating day/night temperatures, suggesting that seeds can germinate throughout the spring, winter and autumn seasons. Seed germination was stimulated by the presence of light; however, 51 to 71% of these seeds still germinated in the dark. The sodium chloride concentration and osmotic potential required to inhibit germination of 50% of the population were 179 mM and -0.52 MPa, respectively. A high proportion of seeds germinated over a wide pH range (4 to 10). Seeds placed on the soil surface had greatest germination (67%) and a burial depth of 3 cm resulted in complete inhibition of emergence. The sorghum residue amount required to reduce emergence by 50% was 1.8 t ha-1. The results suggest that, although this weed will be favored in no-till systems, residue retention on the soil surface will help in reducing its infestation. Seed bank buildup can be managed by burying seeds below the depth of emergence. © 2018 Chauhan et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
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