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Role of the pigmented seed coat of proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) in imbibition, germination and seed persistence

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2008

Mumtaz Khan ,
Paul B. Cavers ,
Marguerite Kane  and
Ken Thompson
Mumtaz Khan
Affiliation:
NERC Unit of Comparative Plant Ecology, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, The University, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
Paul B. Cavers
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Sciences, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond St N, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada
Marguerite Kane
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Sciences, University of Western Ontario, 1151 Richmond St N, London, Ontario, N6A 5B7, Canada
Ken Thompson*
Affiliation:
NERC Unit of Comparative Plant Ecology, Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, The University, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK
*
*Correspondence
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Abstract

Proso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.) is both a crop and a weed in many parts of the world. The weedy biotypes exhibit a wide range of seed colours, but the strains with the most persistent seeds are distinguished by darker seeds. This paper compares the seed biology of a range of biotypes from Canada and demonstrates that darker seeds have heavier seed coats, imbibe and germinate more slowly, and suffer less imbibition damage (measured as electrolyte leakage). It is concluded that all these attributes contribute to the increased persistence in the soil of the dark-seeded weedy biotypes. Imbibition damage is widely implicated in poor emergence and low vigour of crop seeds, but has not previously been considered in the context of weed seed persistence.

Keywords

seed bankweedseed coatproso millet (Panicum miliaceum L.)imbibitiongerminationseed persistence
Type
Physiology
Information
Seed Science Research , Volume 7 , Issue 1 , March 1997 , pp. 21 - 26
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1997

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