Germination was evaluated in six seed lots of purple coneflower purchased from four different seed companies. Standard germination percent ranged from 28% to 90% depending on the seed lot. For seed collected in 1989, seed size and stage of development of the seed at harvest could not account for the wide variability in seed germination observed in the purchased seed lots. preconditioning the seed with either cold stratification (10°C for 10 days) or osmotic priming (PEG or salt solution at -5 bars for 5 days) increased the rate of germination and the overall percent germination for all seed lots and dramatically improved germination in the poor germinating seed lots. Preconditioning appears to overcome either a shallow physiological dormancy or compensates for seeds with poor vigor or quality. In either case, seed preconditioning drastically improved seed germination (rate and percent) in greenhouse and field tests for purple coneflower.
True potato seed of Atzimba × 104.12LB (intermediate dormancy) was dried to seed moisture contents ranging from 3.85 to 12.5% (dry wt basis) and was stored for 2 years at 30, 15 and 5°C. Seed was tested for various germination and seedling vigor criteria at 4 month intervals. Seed dormancy and viability were better preserved at seed moisture levels below 7% and as temperature decreased. High moisture (>9%) was lethal to seed stored at 30°C. TPS should be stored at <5% seed moisture content. Under this condition seed dormancy in the genotype studied was lost after about 12 months at 30°C.
organic mulches may be an effective cultural weed management option. Mulch thickness is an important consideration because the emergence of weed seedlings is inversely related to seed depth so the efficacy of weed control tends to increase with mulch
One possible influence film-coating may have on seeds is modifying water uptake and electrolyte leaking during imibibition. Film-coating is a seed treatment that can improve sweet corn germination, especially under cold soil conditions. Two shrunken-2 sweet corn varieties (`Even Sweeter' and `Sugar Bowl') were treated with a polymer film-coating and evaluated for water uptake patterns during imibibition. `Even Sweeter' is a low-vigor sweet corn, while `Sugar Bowl' is a high-vigor variety. Standard germination tests were performed according to AOSA rules and suggest film-coated seeds germinated at a slower rate than untreated seeds. After 4 days of imibibition, `Sugar Bowl' film-coated seeds had 5% germination, while untreated seeds had ≈20% germination. However, after 7 days, film-coated seeds had 94% germination with untreated seeds at 80% germination. Results were similar for `Even Sweeter'. Bulk electrical conductivity readings were taken over 24 h to determine the amount of electrolyte leakage during imibibition. Low-vigor `Even Sweeter' had 92% higher overall leakage than high-vigor `Sugar Bowl'. Additional conductivity readings were taken for both seed lots every 2 h for 12 h. Film-treated seeds leaked 15% less than untreated seeds for `Sugar Bowl'. However, `Even Sweeter' film-coated seeds actually leaked 17% more than the untreated seeds. In both cases, 70% of electrolyte leakage occurred within the first 12 h of imibibition. An imibibition curve was established for the two seed lots comparing untreated and film-coated seeds. During the first 6 h of water uptake, film-treated seeds weighed ≈50% more than the untreated seeds for both `Even Sweeter' and `Sugar Bowl'. Pathways for water uptake as influenced by film-coating shrunken-2 seeds will also be presented.
characteristics included flower and inflorescence morphology, plant vigor, berry size, berry color (wax, skin, and flesh), picking scar, stemminess, firmness, flavor, and tendency for berries to shatter when ripe. Seed germination and planting of the field
than three seeds/fruit (data not shown). Those four selections were eventually removed as a result of excessive vigor, lack of productivity, or undesirable fruit. The ‘Pera 15’ trees were removed because of tree decline resulting from the bud union
Membrane damage associated with rapid influx of water during imbibition can play a role in the poor emergence and seedling vigor associated with sweet corn germination. Film-coating as a seed treatment has been used to improve germination and vigor in sweet corn and this improvement may not be associated with changes in imbibition rate. Two seed lots of shrunken-2 variety sweet corn, low-vigor `Even Sweeter' and high-vigor `Sugar Bowl', were treated with a hydrophilic polymer film-coating and evaluated for differences in emergence and water uptake. Both cultivars were grown at 19, 21, and 26 °C with no effect on emergence due to film-coating. Imbibition curves were established for untreated and hydrophilic film-coated seeds. Film-coated seeds showed an 18% increase in fresh weight compared to untreated seeds for both cultivars during a 6-h period. Bulk conductivity tests resulted in no significant mean difference between untreated and hydrophilic-treated seeds after 24 h. These seed lots have been treated with a hydrophobic polymer and are currently being evaluated for cold temperature emergence and imbibition rates. Water entry during imbibition will also be compared for untreated sugary (su) and shrunken-2 (sh2) seeds using the fluorescent compound trisodium salt, 8-hydroxypyrene-1, 3,6-trisulfonic acid (HPTS).
Native turfgrasses have received greater attention in recent years because of their usefulness in growing in areas where many other grasses cannot. Saltgrass (Distichlis spicata) has good salt tolerance, but the natural germination rate for the seed is low. This is most likely due to the thickness of the seed coat inhibiting normal imbibition of water. Previous research in our laboratory has demonstrated increased germination with hand-scarification. The purpose of this research was to compare germination rates of machine-scarified, hand-scarified, and nonscarified seed. Scarifying the seeds by hand results in greater uniformity, but the operation is tedious and time-consuming. Machine scarification is quick, but the seeds have reduced uniformity. Two seed lots, one designated “Modoc” and one designated “Granite,” were compared in laboratory and field germination tests. Preliminary observations have shown that “Granite” seed had somewhat higher viability and vigor than the “Modoc” seed. Significantly greater germination occurred with scarification when seeds were germinated at 14 h of light at 30 °C and 10 h of darkness at 20 °C in the laboratory. Although scarification treatments were similar with the “Granite” seeds, near 80% germination, there were significant differences between hand and machine scarification with the”Modoc” seeds; hand scarified seed had greater germination. The field germination experiment had similar results to the laboratory experiments with “Granite” seed. However, scarification did not aid germination of “Modoc” seed. This is thought to be due to low vigor and associated death of seedlings prior to emergence. Preliminary data confirm the low vigor of the “Modoc” seed as compared to “Granite” seed.
Mutant endosperm associated with shrunken-2 sweet corn possesses a high osmotic potential that increases the rate of imbibition. Membrane damage associated with the rapid influx of water during imbibition can play a role in the poor emergence and seedling vigor associated with sweet corn germination. Film-coating as a seed treatment has been used to improve germination and vigor in sweet corn. This improvement may be associated with alterations in the kinetics of imbibition. Two seed lots of shrunken-2 sweet corn, low-vigor `Even Sweeter' and high vigor `Sugar Bowl', were treated with a polymer film-coating and evaluated for differences in water uptake. Imbibition curves were established for nontreated and film-coated seeds. Seeds were weighed every hour for 6 hours and showed a significant difference between the two treatments in fresh weight for both cultivars. This pattern continues throughout the imbibition phase of germination and continues into the lag period. Bulk conductivity tests resulted in no significant mean difference between untreated and film treated seeds after 24 hours. Film treatment assumes characteristics of a hydrophilic polymer. Electrolyte leakage is not reduced and imbibition rate increases by 18% for both varieties of film-coated seeds.
40 WORKSHOP 3 (Abstr. 656) Seed Quality Issues in Medicinal Herbs