While this article describes important steps to reduce the presence of potentially seedborne pathogens in seed production fields, information contained herein constitutes suggestions only and does not guarantee a disease-free crop. Despite
. Usually, one mature Chinese Torreya tree can bring an income of ≈$5000 from seed crops each year. Zhuji City (or County) of Zhejiang Province, which is within the central production area of Chinese Torreya, produces more than 1000 tons of nuts every year
sweetpotato slips (D. Godwin, D. Scott, and J. Jones, personal communication). However, a lack of knowledge exists on what is the optimum seed root density and size for production of sweetpotato slips. Depending on grower’s equipment, the propagation beds are
production is required on the plant to yield high seed quantities ( Augspurger, 1983 ). It is generally understood that the larger the mature plant, the higher the yield ( Dieringer, 1991 ; Ollerton and Lack, 1998 ). Norway maple is one species that has been
The availability of water to the mother plant during seed production is important because it affects seed yield and quality of many species. In general, most of the research on water requirements of different crops has focused on optimizing yield
diversity and threatens the success of the project ( Kutner and Morse, 1996 ). A more desirable system would be to produce sea oats from seed ( Knott et al., 2012 ). Production of sea oats plants from seed would not only increase genetic diversity of sea
( Garrett and Grisham, 1995 ). The anaerobic-to-aerobic (ANA) ratio index, a seed quality test, uses the ratio of anaerobic (AN) and aerobic (A) ethanol production in seeds and was developed as a rapid, sensitive, predictive indicator of seed quality
Seed production in the family Cucurbitaceae is more complicated than in dry-seeded grain crops because seeds mature within a moist fruit and are often held at high moisture content for several weeks before seed harvest. Muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.), a member of this family, was used as a model system to contrast seed development with crops that are dry at maturity. A detailed time course for `Top Mark' fruit and seed development is presented based on previous studies. In muskmelon fruit, precocious germination is inhibited osmotically by the low water potential of the surrounding fruit tissue. Muskmelon seeds exhibit primary dormancy that affects viability very early in development but has a greater effect on seed vigor and is removed by afterripening during dry storage. Osmotically distended or fish-mouth seeds are dead seeds that occur in cucurbit seed lots after aging kills the embryo without disrupting the semipermeable endosperm that completely surrounds and protects the embryo. Cucurbit seed crops should be harvested before the onset of fruit senescence to prevent aging of the seeds inside. Open-pollinated cucurbit seed crops are frequently once-over mechanically harvested. Mechanical harvesting combines seeds from many stages of development into a single seed lot, which may adversely affect quality and increase seed to seed variability. Hand harvesting cucurbit fruit at the optimal stage of development could improve seed quality in some instances but is more costly and time consuming and would increase production costs.
their seed in agricultural settings, as wildland collections are expensive and generally inadequate to meet revegetation needs. For most forb species where seeds are in demand for restoration use in the Intermountain West, guidelines for seed production
restoration necessitates development of cultural practices for seed increase in agricultural settings as adequate seed supplies of most species cannot be obtained through wildland collections ( Shaw and Jensen, 2014 ). Economical commercial production of these