Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-4rdpn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-10T12:56:49.977Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Pre- and post-harvest influences on physiological dormancy alleviation of an Australian Asteraceae species: Actinobole uliginosum (A. Gray) H. Eichler

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 December 2008

Gemma L. Hoyle*
Affiliation:
Integrated Seed Research Unit, School of Land, Crop and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, 4072Australia
Matthew I. Daws
Affiliation:
Seed Conservation Department, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, Wakehurst Place, Ardingly, West Sussex, RH17 6TN, UK
Kathryn J. Steadman
Affiliation:
School of Pharmacy, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, 4072Australia
Steve W. Adkins
Affiliation:
Integrated Seed Research Unit, School of Land, Crop and Food Sciences, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, 4072Australia
*
*Correspondence Email: gemmahoyle@hotmail.com

Abstract

The effects of maternal air temperature and soil moisture upon seed physiological dormancy (PD) alleviation of an Australian native Asteraceae were investigated. From the onset of flowering, Actinobole uliginosum plants growing ex situ were subjected to either a warm (mean 26°C) or cool (mean 17°C) temperature regime, with adequate or limited water availability. In the warm environment, the reproductive phase was accelerated, and plants yielded fewer seeds over a shorter, earlier harvest period, when compared to those in the cool environment. Initial germination of all seeds was low ( < 20% at 15°C) due to PD, which was gradually alleviated by a dry after-ripening (DAR) treatment (34/20°C, 40% relative humidity, in darkness). Seeds from plants grown in the warm environment were more responsive to DAR than seeds from the cool environment, but maternal plant water availability had little effect on dormancy status. Germination was higher at 15°C than at 25/15°C, reaching a plateau of c. 80% germination after 20 weeks DAR. Before DAR, application of GA3 had little impact on seeds, which would consequently be classified as having deep PD if tested at the time of dispersal. However, DAR caused seeds to become increasingly responsive to GA3, reaching 97% germination at 15°C following just 4 weeks of DAR, which would indicate non-deep PD if seeds were tested following a period of warm, dry storage. Maternal air temperature regulates PD status of A. uliginosum, such that seeds collected from a warmer environment are likely to be more responsive to DAR. Post-harvest storage in an environment suitable for DAR affects seed response to GA3, which has implications for germination stimulation and dormancy classification.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2008

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

Aragon, C.F., Escudero, A. and Valladares, F. (2008) Stress-induced dynamic adjustments of reproduction differentially affect fitness components of a semi-arid plant. Journal of Ecology 96, 222229.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baskin, C.C. and Baskin, J.M. (2001) Seeds: ecology, biogeography and evolution of dormancy and germination. London, Academic Press.Google Scholar
Baskin, J.M. and Baskin, C.C. (2004) A classification system for seed dormancy. Seed Science Research 14, 116.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Benech-Arnold, R.L., Ghersa, C.M., Sanchez, R.A. and Insausti, P. (1990) Temperature effects on dormancy release and germination rate in Sorghum halepense (L.) Pers. seeds: a quantitative analysis. Weed Research 30, 8189.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
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, 596605.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biddulph, T.B., Plummer, J.A., Setter, T.L. and Mares, D.J. (2007) Influence of high temperature and terminal moisture stress on dormancy in wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). Field Crops Research 103, 139153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bunker, K.V. (1994) Overcoming poor germination in Australian daisies (Asteraceae) by combinations of gibberellin, scarification, light and dark. Scientia Horticulturae 59, 243252.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bureau of Meteorology (2007) Climate statistics for Australian locations. Available athttp://www.bom.gov.au/climate/averages/tables/cw_044026.shtml (accessed May 2007).Google Scholar
Daws, M.I., Davies, J., Pritchard, H.W., Brown, N.A.C. and Van Staden, J. (2007) Butenolide from plant-derived smoke enhances germination and seedling growth of arable weed species. Plant Growth Regulation 51, 7382.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Derkx, M.P.M. and Karssen, C.M. (1993) Changing sensitivity to light and nitrate but not to gibberellins regulates seasonal dormancy patterns in Sysymbrium officinale seeds. Plant, Cell and Environment 16, 469479.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fenner, M. (1991) The effects of the parent environment on seed germination. Seed Science Research 1, 7584.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
FloraBase (2008) The Western Australian Flora. Available athttp://florabase.calm.wa.gov.au/search/quick?q = Actinobole+uliginosum (accessed January 2008).Google Scholar
Gonzalez-Rodriguez, A.M., Martin-Olivera, A., Morales, D. and Jiménez, M.S. (2005) Physiological responses of tagasaste to a progressive drought in its native environment on the Canary Islands. Environmental and Experimental Botany 53, 195204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gutterman, Y. (1992) Maturation dates affecting the germinability of Lactuca serriola L. achenes collected from a natural population in the Negev desert highlands. Germination under constant temperatures. Journal of Arid Environments 22, 353362.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gutterman, Y. (2000) Maternal effects on seeds during development. pp. 5984in Fenner, M. (Ed.) Seeds: the ecology of regeneration in plant communities. Wallingford, CAB International.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoyle, G.L., Steadman, K.J., Daws, M.I. and Adkins, S.W. (2008a) Physiological dormancy in forbs native to south-west Queensland: diagnosis and classification. South African Journal of Botany 74, 208213.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hoyle, G.L., Daws, M.I., Steadman, K.J. and Adkins, S.W. (2008b) Mimicking a semi-arid tropical environment achieves dormancy alleviation for seeds of Australian native Goodeniaceae and Asteraceae. Annals of Botany 101, 701708.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hoyle, G.L., Steadman, K.J., Daws, M.I. and Adkins, S.W. (2008c) Pre- and post-harvest influences on physiological dormancy alleviation of an Australian Goodeniaceae species: Goodenia fascicularis F. Muell. & Tate. Annals of Botany 102, 93101.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ISTA (International Seed Testing Association) (2003) ISTA working sheets on tetrazolium testing. Vols I and II. Bassersdorf, Switzerland, ISTA.Google Scholar
Krannitz, P.G., Aarssen, L.W. and Dow, J.M. (1991) The effect of genetically based differences in seed size on seedling survival in Arabidopsis thaliana (Brassicaceae). American Journal of Botany 78, 446450.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lambers, H., Chapin, F.S. II and Pons, T.L. (1998) Time scale of plant response to environment. pp. 45 in Lambers, H.; Chapin, F.S. II; Pons, T.L (Eds) Plant physiological ecology. New York, Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Linington, S.H. (2003) The design of seed banks. pp. 591636in Smith, R.D.; Dickie, J.B.; Linington, S.H.; Pritchard, H.W.; Probert, R.J. (Eds) Seed conservation. Turning science into practice. Kew, UK, Royal Botanic Gardens.Google Scholar
Llorens, L., Penuelas, J. and Estiarte, M. (2003) Ecophysiological responses of two Mediterranean shrubs, Erica multiflora and Globularia alypum, to experimentally drier and warmer conditions. Physiologia Plantarum 119, 231243.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Luzuriaga, A.L., Escudero, A. and Perez-Garcia, F. (2005) Environmental maternal effects on seed morphology and germination in Sinapis arvensis (Cruciferae). Weed Research 46, 163174.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meyer, S.E. and Allen, P.S. (1999) Ecological genetics of seed germination regulation in Bromus tectorum L. II. Reaction norms in response to a water stress gradient imposed during seed maturation. Oecologia 120, 3543.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
O'Donnell, C.C. and Adkins, S.W. (2001) Wild oat and climate change: the effect of CO2 concentration, temperature, and water deficit on the growth and development of wild oat in monoculture. Weed Science 49, 694702.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peishi, Z., Plummer, J., Turner, D., Choengsaat, D. and Bell, D. (1999) Low- and high-temperature storage effects on viability and germinability of seeds of three Australian Asteraceaea. Australian Journal of Botany 47, 265275.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peters, N. (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
PlantNET (2008) The Plant Information Network System of the Botanic Gardens Trust, Version 2.0. Available athttp://plantnet.rbgsyd.nsw.gov.au/cgibin/NSWfl.pl?page=nswfl&lvl=sp&name=Actinobole~uliginosum (accessed January 2008).Google Scholar
Plummer, J.A. and Bell, D.T. (1995) The effects of temperature, light and gibberellic acid (GA3) on the germination of Australian everlasting daisies (Asteraceae, Tribe Inuleae). Australian Journal of Botany 43, 93102.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Qaderi, M.M., Cavers, P.B., Hamill, A.S., Downs, M.P. and Bernards, M.A. (2006) Maturation temperature regulates germinability and chemical constitutes of Scotch thistle (Onopordum acanthium) cypselas. Canadian Journal of Botany 84, 2838.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schutz, W., Milberg, P. and Lamont, B.B. (2002) Seed dormancy, after-ripening and light requirements of four annual Asteraceae in South-western Australia. Annals of Botany 90, 707714.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Steadman, K.J., Bignell, G.P. and Ellery, A.J. (2003) Field assessment of thermal after-ripening time for dormancy release prediction in Lolium rigidum seeds. Weed Research 43, 458465.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Steadman, K.J., Ellery, A.J., Chapman, R., Moore, A. and Turner, N.C. (2004) Maturation temperature and rainfall influence seed dormancy characteristics of annual ryegrass (Lolium rigidum). Australian Journal of Agricultural Research 55, 10471057.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Swain, A.J., Huges, Z.S., Cook, S.K. and Moss, S.R. (2006) Quantifying the dormancy of Alopecurus myosuroides seeds produced by plants exposed to different soil moisture and temperature regimes. Weed Research 46, 470479.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Thompson, K. and Grime, J.P. (1979) Seasonal variation in the seed banks of herbaceous species in ten contrasting habitats. Journal of Ecology 67, 893921.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wulff, R.D. (1995) Environmental maternal effects on seed quality and germination. pp. 491505in Kigel, J.; Galili, G. (Eds) Seed development and germination. New York, Marcel Dekker.Google Scholar