Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-lnqnp Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-25T05:46:39.790Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Variation in seed dormancy among mother plants, populations and years of seed collection

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2008

L. Andersson*
Affiliation:
Department of Crop Production Science, SLU, Box 7043, S-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
P. Milberg
Affiliation:
Department of Crop Production Science, SLU, Box 7043, S-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden
*
*Correspondence Fax +46-18 67 2909 E-mail [email protected]

Abstract

Variation in dormancy level was tested in seeds of four species, each collected from three populations in 1994 and 1995 (experiment 1). Germination was tested in light and darkness on recently-harvested seeds and on those after-ripened in dry storage for one year. In addition, seeds from each of eight individual plants within each of eight populations were tested for germination when recently harvested and after warm stratification or cold stratification followed by a drying period (experiment 2). Seeds from the two years differed in dormancy level in Silene noctiflora, Sinapis arvensis and Spergula arvensis. Germination percentage differed significantly among populations in Sinapis arvensis and Spergula arvensis in both experiments and in Thlaspi arvense in experiment 2. Furthermore, dormancy level in seeds from different mother plants also varied in the three species tested in experiment 2. Variations at the three levels tested (year, population and mother plant) indicate that these species have a random pattern of variation in dormancy level. It is concluded that variation in seed dormancy among mother plants, populations and years must be taken into account when testing the germination characteristics of a species and also when attempting to model weed seed bank dynamics.

Type
Ecology
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1998

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

Andersson, L, Milberg, P and Noronha, Â (1997) Germination response of weed seeds to light, light of short duration and darkness after stratification in soil. Swedish Journal of Agricultural Research 27, (in press).Google Scholar
Beckstead, J, Meyer, S E and Allen, P S (1996) Bromus tectorum seed germination: between-population and between-year variation. Canadian Journal of Botany 74, 875882.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bosbach, K, Hurka, H and Haase, R (1982) The soil seed bank of Capsella bursa-pastoris (Cruciferae); its influence on population variability. Flora 172, 4756.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bouwmeester, H J and Karssen, C M (1993) The effect of environmental conditions on the annual dormancy pattern of seeds of Spergula arvensis Canadian Journal of Botany 71, 6473.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dorne, A J (1981) Variation in seed germination inhibition of Chenopodium bonus-henricus in relation to altitude of plant growth. Canadian Journal of Botany 59, 18931901.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Drennan, D S H and Bain, A B (1987) Variation in germination within UK populations of Phalaris paradoxa. pp 725731in Proceedings of the British Crop Protection Conference, Weeds, Thornton Heath, UK, British Crop Protection Council.Google Scholar
Evans, A S and Cabin, R J (1995) Can dormancy affect the evolution of post-germination traits? The case of Lesquerella fendleri. Ecology 76, 344356.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fawcett, R S and Slife, F W (1978) Effects of field applications of nitrate on weed seed germination and dormancy. Weed Science 26, 594596.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fenner, M (1991) The effects of the parent environment on seed germinability. Seed Science Research 1, 7584.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Freeman, D H (1987) Applied categorical data analysis, pp 109177. New York, Marcel Dekker.Google Scholar
Frost, R A and Cavers, P B (1975) The ecology of pigweeds (Amaranthus) in Ontario. I. Interspecific and intraspecific variation in seed germination among local collections of A. powellii and A. retroflexus. Canadian Journal of Botany 53, 12761284.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gutterman, Y (1992) Maternal effects on seeds during development, pp 2759in Fenner, M (Ed.) Seeds: the ecology of regeneration in plant communities. Wallingford, UK, CAB INTERNATIONAL.Google Scholar
Hallgren, E (1996) Occurence of broad-leaved weeds on different soils in different crops in Sweden. Swedish Journal of Agricultural Research 26, 115123.Google Scholar
Meyer, S E and Kitchen, S G (1994) Life history variation in blue flax (Linum perenne: Linaceae): seed germination phenology. American Journal of Botany 81, 528535.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyer, S E and Monsen, S B (1992) Big sagebrush germination patterns: subspecies and population differences. Journal of Range Management 45, 8793.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyer, S E, Kitchen, S G and Carlson, S L (1995) Seed germination timing patterns in intermountain Penestemon (Scrophulariaceae). American Journal of Botany 82, 377389.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milberg, P and Andersson, L (1994) Effect of emergence date on seed production and seed germinability in Thlaspi arvense. Swedish Journal of Agricultural Research 24, 143146.Google Scholar
Milberg, P, Andersson, L, Elfversson, C and Regnér, S (1996a) Germination characteristics of seeds differing in mass. Seed Science Research 6, 191197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Milberg, P, Andersson, L and Noronha, Â (1996b) Seed germination after short-duration light exposure: implications for the photo-control of weeds. Journal of Applied Ecology 33, 14691478.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, S D, Nalewaja, J D and Richardson, S (1976) Variation among wild oat biotypes. pp 111112in Proceedings North Central Weed Control Conference, Vol. 30.Google Scholar
Naylor, R E L and Abdalla, A F (1982) Variation in germination behaviour. Seed Science and Technology 10, 6776.Google Scholar
Paterson, J G, Goodchild, N A and Boyd, W J R (1976) Effect of storage temperature, storage duration and germination temperature on the dormancy of seed of Avena fatua L. and Avena barbata Pott ex Link. Australian Journal of Agriculture 27, 373379.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pérez-García, F (1993) Germination behaviour of Onopordum acanthium L. (Asteraceae): effect of the origin of the cypsela. pp 417422in Côme, D, Corbineau, F (Eds) Proceedings of the 4th International Workshop on Seeds: Basic and applied aspects of seed biology. Vol. 2, Paris, ASFIS.Google Scholar
Peters, N C B (1982) The dormancy of wild oat seed (Avena fatua L.) from plants grown under various temperature and soil moisture conditions. Weed Research 22, 205212.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Philippi, T (1993) Bet-hedging germination of desert annuals: variation among populations and maternal effects in Lepidium lasiocarpum. American Naturalist 142, 488507.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
SAS Institute Inc. (1989) SAS/STAT user's guide, version 6. (4th edition) Cary, North Carolina.Google Scholar
Schütz, W and Milberg, P (1997) Seed dormancy in Carex canescens: regional differences and ecological consequences. Oikos 78, 420428.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strand, E (1989) Studies on seed dormancy in small grain species. II. Wheat. Norwegian Journal of Agricultural Sciences 3, 101115.Google Scholar
Vleeshouwers, L M, Bouwmeester, H J and Karssen, C M (1995) Redefining seed dormancy: an attempt to integrate physiology and ecology. Journal of Ecology 83, 10311037.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Watson, C E Jr, and Watson, V H (1982) Nitrogen and date of defoliation effects on seed yield and seed quality of tall fescue. Agronomy Journal 74, 891893.CrossRefGoogle Scholar