Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-fscjk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T05:39:49.118Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Seed-Soil Microsite Characteristics in Relation to Weed Seed Germination

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2017

Mario R. Pareja
Affiliation:
Dep. Plant Pathol., Seed and Weed Sci., Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA 50011
David W. Staniforth
Affiliation:
Dep. Plant Pathol., Seed and Weed Sci., Iowa State Univ., now deceased

Abstract

Growth chamber and laboratory experiments evaluated the effects of seed-soil microsite characteristics on seed germination. When corn (Zea mays L. ‘Pioneer 3541’), soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr. ‘Corsoy 79’], velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti Medic. ♯ ABUTH), and giant foxtail (Setaria faberi Herrm. ♯ SETFA) were seeded among soil aggregates 2.50 to 1.25 cm in diameter in the growth chamber, there was decreased seedling emergence with decreasing frequency of irrigation. These same species seeded inside artificial soil aggregates showed increased seedling emergence with decreasing frequency of irrigation. The germination of corn and soybean seed inside 0.4-g, fully moist soil aggregates incubated in the laboratory under high relative humidity conditions was significantly decreased relative to seed incubated in the absence of soil. Velvetleaf and giant foxtail germination was significantly reduced by 0.1-g soil aggregates. Rice (Oryza sativa L.) had 68% emergence from 1.0-g, fully moist soil aggregates, whereas larger seeded corn and soybean had only 20 and 10% emergence, respectively. Germination inhibition of giant foxtail seed by fully moist soil was partially reversed by incubating seed-containing aggregates in an atmosphere of 75% oxygen.

Type
Weed Biology and Ecology
Copyright
Copyright © 1985 by the Weed Science Society of America 

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

Literature Cited

1. Bewley, J. D. and Black, M. 1978. Physiology and Biochemistry of Seeds in Relation to Germination. Vol. 1: Development, Germination and Growth. Springer-Verlag, New York.Google Scholar
2. Bibbey, R. O. 1935. The influence of environment upon the germination of weed seeds. Sci. Agric. 16:141150.Google Scholar
3. Chepil, W. S. 1946. Germination of weed seeds. II. The influence of tillage treatments on germination. Sci. Agric. 26:347357.Google Scholar
4. Collis-George, N. and Hector, J. B. 1966. Germination of seeds as influenced by matric potential and by area of contact between seed and soil water. Aust. J. Soil Res. 4:145164.Google Scholar
5. Collis-George, N. and Sands, J. E. 1959. The control of seed germination by moisture as a soil physical property. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 10:628636.Google Scholar
6. Collis-George, N. and Sands, J. E. 1962. Comparison of the effects of the physical and chemical components of soil water energy on seed germination. Aust. J. Agric. Res. 13:575584.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7. Currie, J. A. 1961. Gaseous diffusion in the aeration of aggregated soils. Soil Sci. 92:4045.Google Scholar
8. Currie, J. A. 1962. The importance of aeration in providing the right conditions for plant growth. J. Sci. Food Agric. 13:380385.Google Scholar
9. Currie, J. A. 1965. Diffusion within soil microstructure, a structural parameter for soils. J. Soil Sci. 16:279289.Google Scholar
10. Currie, J. A. 1972. The seed-soil system. Pages 463479 in Heydecker, W., ed. Seed Ecology. Proc. 19th Easter Sch. Agric. Sci., Univ. Nottingham. The Pennsylvania State Univ. Press, London.Google Scholar
11. Dasberg, S. 1971. Soil water movement to germinating seeds. J. Exp. Bot. 22:9991008.Google Scholar
12. Dasberg, S. and Mendel, K. 1971. The effect of soil water and aeration on seed germination. J. Exp. Bot. 22:992998.Google Scholar
13. Edwards, M. M. 1972. Seed dormancy and seed environment, internal oxygen relationships. Pages 169188 in Heydecker, W., ed. Seed Ecology. Proc. 19th Easter Sch. Agric. Sci., Univ. Nottingham. The Pennsylvania State Univ. Press, London.Google Scholar
14. Evans, R. A. and Young, J. A. 1972. Germination and establishment of Salsola and micro-environmental monitoring of the seedbed. Agron. J. 64:219224.Google Scholar
15. Evans, R. A. and Young, J. A. 1972. Microsite requirements for establishment of annual rangeland weeds. Weed Sci. 20:350356.Google Scholar
16. Gulliver, R. L. and Heydecker, W. 1972. Establishment of seedlings in a changeable environment. Pages 433462 in Heydecker, W., ed. Seed Ecology. Proc. 19th Easter Sch. Agric. Sci., Univ. Nottingham. The Pennsylvania State Univ. Press, London.Google Scholar
17. Hagin, J. 1952. Influence of soil aggregation on plant growth. Soil Sci. 74:471478.Google Scholar
18. Hammerton, J. L. 1961. Studies on the effects of soil aggregate size on the emergence and growth of beet. J. Agric. Sci. 56:213228.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
19. Harper, J. L. and Benton, R. A. 1966. The behaviour of seeds in the soil. II. The germination of seeds on the surface of a water supplying substrate. J. Ecol. 54:151166.Google Scholar
20. Harper, J. L., Williams, J. T., and Sagar, G. R. 1965. The behaviour of seeds in the soil. I. The heterogeneity of soil surfaces and its role in determining the establishment of plants from seed. J. Ecol. 53:273286.Google Scholar
21. Miller, S. A. and Mazurak, A. P. 1958. Relationships of particle and pore sizes to the growth of sunflowers (Helianthus annuus L.). Soil Sci. Soc. Am. Proc. 22:275278.Google Scholar
22. Mulliken, J. A. and Kust, C. A. 1970. Germination of velvetleaf. Weed Sci. 18:561564.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
23. Njos, A. 1979. Aggregate size distribution in the seed bed: effects on soil temperature, matric suction, and emergence of barley (Hordeum vulgare L.); a review of some research on clayey soils in south eastern Norway. Pages 121129 in Proc. 8th Conf. Int. Soil Till. Res. Org., Univ. of Hohenheim, Stuttgart, West Germany.Google Scholar
24. Ohmura, T. and Howell, R. W. 1960. Inhibitory effect of water on oxygen consumption by plant materials. Plant Physiol. 35:184188.Google Scholar
25. Oomes, M.J.M. and Elberse, W. T. 1976. Germination of six grassland herbs in microsites with different water contents. J. Ecol. 64:745755.Google Scholar
26. Pareja, M. R., Staniforth, D. W., and Pareja, G. P. 1985. Distribution of weed seed among soil structural units. Weed Sci. 33:182189.Google Scholar
27. Schafer, D. E. and Chilcote, D. O. 1970. Factors influencing persistence and depletion in buried seed populations. II. Effects of soil temperature and moisture. Crop Sci. 10:342345.Google Scholar
28. Sedgley, R. H. 1963. The importance of liquid-seed contact during the germination of Medicago tribuloides . Aust. J. Agric. Res. 14:646653.Google Scholar
29. Sheldon, J. C. 1974. The behaviour of seeds in soil. III. The influence of seed morphology and the behaviour of seedlings on the establishment of plants from surface lying seeds. J. Ecol. 62:4766.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
30. Smith, K. A. 1977. Soil aeration. Soil Sci. 123:284291.Google Scholar
31. Williams, J. and Shaykewich, C. F. 1971. Influence of soil water matric potential and hydraulic conductivity on the germination of rape (Brassica napus L.). J. Exp. Bot. 22:586597.Google Scholar