Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-lj6df Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-03T08:55:45.927Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The effects of different maturation conditions on seed dormancy and germination of Cenchrus ciliaris

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  22 February 2007

Farzad Sharif-Zadeh  and
Alistair J. Murdoch
Farzad Sharif-Zadeh
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, The University of Reading, Earley Gate, PO Box 236, Reading RG6 6AT, UK
Alistair J. Murdoch*
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, The University of Reading, Earley Gate, PO Box 236, Reading RG6 6AT, UK
*
* Correspondence Fax: +44 (0)118 931 8297 Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Seeds of Cenchrus ciliaris L. were produced under different hydro–photo–thermal environments with and without fertilizer. Dormancy loss of spikelets and extracted caryopses was tested during dry after-ripening at 40°C and 43% equilibrium relative humidity. Caryopses had higher initial germination and lost their dormancy faster than spikelets. Dormancy of both caryopses and spikelets generally decreased with an increase of maturation temperature and fertility, whereas dormancy increased if water stress was imposed during maturation. The latter effect was smaller when the mother plants were exposed to water stress after caryopses were fully formed than when water stress cycles were applied throughout maturation. Daylength extension (to 14 or 18 h d-1) by artificial light increased dormancy of both caryopses and spikelets. The effect of long days declined when plants were exposed to natural daylight for more than 10 h d-1. The after-ripening curves were consistent with the hypothesis that dormancy periods of individual seeds are normally distributed within each seed lot. Rates of loss of dormancy were quantified by the slopes of these curves. In a given experiment, these rates were identical for caryopses but not always for spikelets that matured in diverse environments. Even for caryopses, however, the slopes varied between experiments. Therefore, the results do not support the hypothesis that a dormancy model can be applied universally to all seed lots of Cenchrus ciliaris. Methods of predicting the period of after-ripening required to achieve desired levels of dormancy for reseeding degraded rangelands are discussed.

Keywords

after-ripeningCenchrus ciliarisrangeland regenerationseed dormancyseed germinationseed maturationwater stress
Type
Research Article
Information
Seed Science Research , Volume 10 , Issue 4 , December 2000 , pp. 447 - 457
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2000

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Akamine, E.K. (1944) Germination of Hawaiian range grasses. Hawaii Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Bulletin No. 2.Google Scholar
Aspinall, D.J. (1965) Effects of the soil moisture stress on the growth of barley. III. Germination of grain from plants subjected to water stress. Journal of the Institute of Brewing 72, 174–176.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benech Arnold, R.L., Fenner, M. and Edwards, P.J. (1991) Changes in germinability, ABA content and ABA embryonic sensitivity in developing seeds of Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench. induced by water stress during grain filling. New Phytologist 118, 339–347.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Benech Arnold, R.L., Fenner, M. and Edwards, P.J. (1992) Changes in dormancy level in Sorghum halepense seeds induced by water stress during seed development. Functional Ecology 6, 596–605.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boyce, K.G. (1973) Seed dormancy in tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.). Acquisition, effect on metabolic process and relief by temperature and growth regulators. Dissertation Abstracts International. Section B. Science and Engineering 33, 5615–5616.Google Scholar
Buraas, T. and Skinnes, H. (1985) Development of seed dormancy in barley, wheat and Triticale under controlled conditions. Acta Agriculturae Scandinavica 35, 233–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, R.H. and Roberts, E.H. (1980) The Influence of temperature and moisture on seed viability period in barley (Hordeum distichum L.). Annals of Botany 45, 31–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, R.H., Hong, T.D. and Roberts, E.H. (1985a) Handbooks for genebanks. No. 2. Handbook of seed technology for genebanks. Vol. 1. Principles and methodology. Rome, International Board for Plant Genetic Resources.Google Scholar
Ellis, R.H., Hong, T.D. and Roberts, E.H. (1985b) Handbooks for genebanks. No. 3. Handbook of seed technology for genebanks. Vol. 2. Compendium of Specific germination information and test recommendations. Rome, International Board for Plant Genetic Resources.Google Scholar
Ernst, W.H.O., Kuiters, A.T. and Tolsma, D.J. (1991) Dormancy of annual and perennial grasses from a savanna of southeastern Botswana. Acta Oecologica 12, 727–739.Google Scholar
Evenari, M., Koller, D. and Gutterman, Y. (1966) Effects of the environment of the mother plant on germination by control of seed coat impermeability to water in Ononis sicula Guss. Australian Journal of Biological Science 19, 1007–1016.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Favier, J.F. and Woods, J.L. (1993) The quantification of dormancy loss in barley (Hordeum vulgare L.). Seed Science and Technology 21, 653–674.Google Scholar
Fenner, M. (1991) The effects of the parent environment on seed germinability. Seed Science Research 1, 75–84.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gutterman, Y. (1973) Differences in progeny due to daylength and hormone treatment of the mother plant. pp. 59–80in Heydecker, W. (Ed.) Seed ecology. London, Butterworths.Google Scholar
Gutterman, Y. (1978) Seed coat permeability as a function of photoperiodical treatments of mother plants during seed maturation in a desert annual plant: Trigonella arabica Del. Journal of Arid Environments 1, 141–144.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gutterman, Y. and Heydecker, W. (1973) Studies of the surfaces of desert plant seeds. I. Effect of day length upon maturation of the seed coat on Ononis sicula Guss. Annals of Botany 37, 1049–1050.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hacker, J.B. and Ratcliff, D. (1989) Seed dormancy and factors controlling dormancy breakdown in buffel grass accessions from contrasting provenances. Journal of Applied Ecology 26, 201–212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Karssen, C.M. (1970) The light promoted germination of the seeds of Chenopodium album L. III. Effect of the photoperiod during growth and development of the plants on the dormancy of the produced seeds. Acta Botanica Neerlandica 19, 81–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mohamed, H.A., Clark, J.A. and Ong, C.K. (1985) The Influence of temperature during seed development on the germination characteristics of millet seeds. Plant, Cell and Environment 8, 361–362.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Murdoch, A.J. and Ellis, R.H. (2000) Dormancy, viability and longevity. in Fenner, M. (Ed.) Seeds: The ecology of regeneration in plant communities. (2nd edition) Wallingford, UK, CAB International, pp. 183–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Parihar, S.S. and Patil, B.D. (1984) Seed germination studies with Cenchrus ciliaris L. II. Isolation and characterization of germination inhibitors from the spikelets. Current Science 53, 387–388.Google Scholar
Peters, N.C.B. (1982) Production and dormancy of wild oat (Avena fatua) seed from plants grown under soil water stress. Annals of Applied Biology 100, 189–196.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rauber, R. (1984) Dormancy in winter barley (Hordeum vulgare) - Influence of temperature during seed development and germination test. Landwirtschaftliche Forschung 37, 102–110.Google Scholar
Roberts, E.H. and Smith, R.D. (1977) Dormancy and the pentose phosphate pathway. pp. 385–411in Khan, A.A. (Ed.) The physiology and biochemistry of seed dormancy and germination. Amsterdam, Elsevier Biomedical Press.Google Scholar
Sawhney, R. and Naylor, J.M. (1982) Dormancy studies in seed of Avena fatua. 13. Influence of drought stress during seed development on duration of seed dormancy. Canadian Journal of Botany 60, 1016–1020.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sharif-Zadeh, F. (1999) Mechanism and modelling of seed dormancy and germination in Cenchrus ciliaris as affected by different conditions of maturation and storage. PhD Thesis, The University of Reading, UK.Google Scholar
Somody, C.N., Nalewaja, J.D. and Miller, S.D. (1984) The response of wild oat (Avena fatua) and Avena sterilis accessions to photoperiod and temperature. Weed Science 32, 206–213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Summerfield, R.J., Cockshull, K.E., Dickinson, D. and Richardson, A.C. (1974) Versatile irrigation systems for controlled environment growth chambers. Journal of Horticultural Science 49, 161–166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watson, C.E. and Watson, V.H. (1982) Nitrogen and date of defoliation effects on seed yield and seed quality of tall fescue. Agronomy Journal 74, 891–893.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wiesner, L.E. and Grabe, D.F. (1972) Effect of temperature preconditioning and cultivar on ryegrass (Lolium sp.) seed dormancy. Crop Science 12, 760–764.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winkworth, R.E. (1971) Longevity of buffel grass seed sown in an arid Australian range. Journal of Range Management 24, 141–145.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wurzburger, J. and Koller, D. (1976) Differential effects of the parental photothermal environment on development of dormancy in caryopses of Aegilops kotschyi. Journal of Experimental Botany 27, 43–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar