Seedling growth analysis of Russian wildrye

1993 ◽  
Vol 73 (4) ◽  
pp. 1009-1015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul G. Jefferson

Tetracan, a recently released tetraploid cultivar of Russian wildrye (Psathyrostachys juncea (Fisch.) Nevski), has larger seed mass and better emergence from seeding depth than diploid cultivars. The objective of this research was to compare the seedling growth of Russian wildrye with crested wheatgrass (Agropyron desertorum (Fisch. ex Link) Schultes), Nordan and second to compare Tetracan Russian wildrye with two diploid Russian wildrye cultivars, Mayak and Swift. Seedlings were destructively harvested at 28, 42, 56, and 70 d after planting (DAP) in the greenhouse. Crested wheatgrass had greater seedling biomass in shoot and root, higher tiller number, and a more efficient root system than the Russian wildrye. Tetracan had fewer, larger tillers with larger leaves and greater root length than the two diploid cultivars. These results document that the tetraploid cultivar Tetracan has a different pattern of tiller initiation and growth than the diploid cultivars. Seedling growth rate and biomass yield (seedling vigor) of tetraploid Russian wildrye could be improved through polyploidization with high tillering diploid breeding lines as parents and selection for large tiller size (similar to Tetracan) while maintaining high tillering capacity. Key words: Specific root length, leaf area, tillering, carbon allocation

2008 ◽  
Vol 88 (4) ◽  
pp. 687-693 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul G Jefferson ◽  
Bruce Coulman

Cultivars selected for improved seedling vigour may also differ in seedling growth and subsequent forage production. The objective of this project was to compare three cultivars of crested wheatgrass (CWG) and four cultivars of Russian wildrye (RWR) for seedling growth in a greenhouse (GH) trial and two field trials when seeded at 15, 30 and 45 mm depths. Cultivars were Goliath, Kirk and Parkway CWG and SCR39903, Swift, Tetracan, and Tom RWR. Seedling emergence, tiller number, and seedling biomass were determined at 28 d after seeding (DAS) in all three trials. In addition, forage dry matter (DM) yield was determined for 2 yr in the field trials. Small-seeded diploid Parkway crested wheatgrass had reduced emergence at 45 mm seeding depth compared with larger-seeded tetraploid Kirk and Goliath. Goliath had reduced tillering compared with the other two CWG cultivars. The emergence of Tetracan tetraploid RWR was greater at deeper seeding depth than diploid cultivars, SCR39902, Swift and Tom in Field Trial 2, but not in Field Trial 1 and the GH trial. Seedling tiller number of Tetracan RWR was less than that of the other three cultivars. Two-year total CWG forage DM yield in the field was best correlated to emergence. In contrast, 2-yr total RWR forage DM was best correlated to seedling tiller number in GH and Field Trial 2 despite the low tiller numbers at 28 d after seeding. Field emergence of Russian wildrye did not appear to be limiting to seedling establishment in contrast to previous reports. Selection in RWR should include seedling tiller number in combination with seedling emergence in order to improve both seedling vigour and forage productivity. Key words: Establishment, tiller, emergence, forage yields, seedling depth


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian M Connolly

Abstract Stored tree seed collections are essential resources for seedling production and conserving unique germplasm. As stored seeds age, however, seed viability and seedling vigor can decline. This study tests how age and seed mass correspond to germination dynamics and seedling vigor in four white spruce collections from the upper midwestern Unites States. Using two seedling growth experiments, this study demonstrates that white spruce seeds stored for >30 years have low seed viability and slower seedling growth rates compared with seeds from more recent (≤10 years) white spruce collections. Seed mass also predicted seedling growth rate regardless of collection age, suggesting larger seeds from older collections generate faster growing seedlings. Study Implications: Efficient use of stored tree seeds saves nursery managers time and resources. White spruce is a collection priority, but management needs to know how seed viability and seedling vigor decline during storage. Diminished germination and seedling growth after >30 years in storage suggests older collections are most appropriate for germplasm conservation and underscore the importance of testing stored seed prior to nursery production. For collections stored <10 years, larger seeds germinate more readily than smaller seeds and produce faster growing seedlings. For older collections, seed mass does not correspond with germination, but seedling growth rate positively correlated with seed mass.


2018 ◽  
Vol 28 (3) ◽  
pp. 327-331 ◽  
Author(s):  
Qi Zhang ◽  
Liqi Yang ◽  
Kevin Rue

Drought is the most important abiotic stress in crop production including turfgrass management. Using drought tolerant plants can help minimize stress damage. In this study, 23 commercially available cultivars of creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera) were evaluated for their responses to drought stress that was induced by polyethylene glycol (PEG) 6000 in a hydroponic system during the seed germination and seedling growth stage. In such a system, water potential was adjusted to 0.0 (the control), −0.3, and −0.6 MPa to mimic the drought condition. The absolute water content (AWC), shoot dry weight (SDW), root dry weight (RDW), longest root length (LRL), specific root length (SRL), and root-to-shoot dry weight ratio (RSR) in the plants grown for 4 weeks in the treatment were determined. Results showed that SDW and LRL were unaffected by drought; however, RDW and RSR increased, whereas SRL and AWC were reduced under drought. Among the 23 creeping bentgrass cultivars evaluated, Independence and Crystal Bluelinks had a higher turfgrass performance index (TPI), which represented the number of times a cultivar ranked in the top statistical group across all parameters. The results suggest that ‘Independence’ and ‘Crystal Bluelinks’ may be more adapted to drought than the other cultivars at the seedling stage.


Botany ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 92 (2) ◽  
pp. 101-108 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo Alvarez-Flores ◽  
Thierry Winkel ◽  
David Degueldre ◽  
Carmen Del Castillo ◽  
Richard Joffre

Plant morphology determines the access to soil resources, a feature crucial for early growth in annual species. Plant growth and root traits in little-known species of Andean chenopods were compared with the hypothesis that plants from low-resource habitats show traits that enhance resource capture. Three cultivated Chenopodium populations (two populations of the tetraploid Chenopodium quinoa Willd., one population of the diploid Chenopodium pallidicaule Aellen) and one population of their wild tetraploid relative Chenopodium hircinum Schrad. were grown in pots under nonlimiting conditions over nine weeks of early vegetative growth. All populations followed the same sequence of biomass allocation and showed similar maximal values of shoot and root relative growth rates (RGR). Population differences in plant biomass, net assimilation rate, total root length, and specific root length were associated with seed mass ranking and species ploidy level. Chenopodium quinoa produced less branched stems and maintained high root RGR for a longer time than the other two species, and the C. quinoa population from low-resource habitat showed a faster main root growth. These results show that C. pallidicaule developed a plant growth syndrome adapted to cold, high-altitude habitats, while C. quinoa from low-resource habitats showed an improved capacity to explore soil at depth in early growth stages.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Coline Deveautour ◽  
Suzanne Donn ◽  
Sally Power ◽  
Kirk Barnett ◽  
Jeff Powell

Future climate scenarios predict changes in rainfall regimes. These changes are expected to affect plants via effects on the expression of root traits associated with water and nutrient uptake. Associated microorganisms may also respond to these new precipitation regimes, either directly in response to changes in the soil environment or indirectly in response to altered root trait expression. We characterised arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungal communities in an Australian grassland exposed to experimentally altered rainfall regimes. We used Illumina sequencing to assess the responses of AM fungal communities associated with four plant species sampled in different watering treatments and evaluated the extent to which shifts were associated with changes in root traits. We observed that altered rainfall regimes affected the composition but not the richness of the AM fungal communities, and we found distinctive communities in the increased rainfall treatment. We found no evidence of altered rainfall regime effects via changes in host physiology because none of the studied traits were affected by changes in rainfall. However, specific root length was observed to correlate with AM fungal richness, while concentrations of phosphorus and calcium in root tissue and the proportion of root length allocated to fine roots were correlated to community composition. Our study provides evidence that climate change and its effects on rainfall may influence AM fungal community assembly, as do plant traits related to plant nutrition and water uptake. We did not find evidence that host responses to altered rainfall drive AM fungal community assembly in this grassland ecosystem.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiucheng Liu ◽  
Yuting Wang ◽  
Shuangri Liu ◽  
Miao Liu

Abstract Aims Phosphorus (P) availability and efficiency are especially important for plant growth and productivity. However, the sex-specific P acquisition and utilization strategies of dioecious plant species under different N forms are not clear. Methods This study investigated the responsive mechanisms of dioecious Populus cathayana females and males based on P uptake and allocation to soil P supply under N deficiency, nitrate (NO3 −) and ammonium (NH4 +) supply. Important Findings Females had a greater biomass, root length density (RLD), specific root length (SRL) and shoot P concentration than males under normal P availability with two N supplies. NH4 + supply led to higher total root length, RLD and SRL but lower root tip number than NO3 − supply under normal P supply. Under P deficiency, males showed a smaller root system but greater photosynthetic P availability and higher leaf P remobilization, exhibiting a better capacity to adaptation to P-deficiency than females. Under P deficiency, NO3 − supply increased leaf photosynthesis and PUE but reduced RLD and SRL in females while males had higher leaf P redistribution and photosynthetic PUE than NH4 + supply. Females had a better potentiality to cope with P deficiency under NO3 − supply than NH4 + supply; the contrary was true for males. These results suggest that females may devote to increase in P uptake and shoot P allocation under normal P availability, especially under NO3 − supply, while males adopt more efficient resource use and P remobilization to maximum their tolerance to P-deficiency.


Euphytica ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 137 (2) ◽  
pp. 243-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne-Kristin Løes ◽  
Tara S. Gahoonia

Author(s):  
Weihong Sun ◽  
Guofeng Yang ◽  
Lili Cong ◽  
Juan Sun ◽  
Lichao Ma

Background: Plant allelopathy refers to the release of chemicals from plants or microorganisms into the environment, may have direct or indirect, beneficial or harmful effects on other plants or microorganisms. When plants grow in an unfavorable environment,more allelochemicals will be secreted and the expression of allelopathic effects will increase, giving plants a certain competitive advantage. Hairy vetch is one of the most promising allelopathic crops and the aqueous extract of hairy vetch has an inhibitory effect on the root length and seedling height of grass crops. The current study aimed to study the allelopathic effect of hairy vetch on alfalfa, and exploring an ecological method to remove the root system of alfalfa.Methods: In this experiment, the allelopathic effects of the seeds, stems and leaves, roots extracts and root exudates (0, 3, 6, 9 and 12 mg·mL-1) on the seed germination and seedling growth of alfalfa were evaluated. And the main allelopathic substances from the stem and leaf extract were isolated and identified using high performance liquid chromatography- mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS).Result: The results showed that all of the extracts can inhibit alfalfa seed germination and seedling growth and stem and leaf extract had the strongest inhibitory effect, especially for inhibiting the root growth. A main allelochemical substance, o-coumaric acid, was screened out and the root length of alfalfa was completely inhibited at 1.6 mg·mL-1 of o-coumaric acid. The findings of these experiments show hairy vetch has strong allelopathic effect on alfalfa and o-coumaric acid is a chemical growth inhibitor.


Agronomy ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (11) ◽  
pp. 241 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allah Wasaya ◽  
Xiying Zhang ◽  
Qin Fang ◽  
Zongzheng Yan

Plant roots play a significant role in plant growth by exploiting soil resources via the uptake of water and nutrients. Root traits such as fine root diameter, specific root length, specific root area, root angle, and root length density are considered useful traits for improving plant productivity under drought conditions. Therefore, understanding interactions between roots and their surrounding soil environment is important, which can be improved through root phenotyping. With the advancement in technologies, many tools have been developed for root phenotyping. Canopy temperature depression (CTD) has been considered a good technique for field phenotyping of crops under drought and is used to estimate crop yield as well as root traits in relation to drought tolerance. Both laboratory and field-based methods for phenotyping root traits have been developed including soil sampling, mini-rhizotron, rhizotrons, thermography and non-soil techniques. Recently, a non-invasive approach of X-ray computed tomography (CT) has provided a break-through to study the root architecture in three dimensions (3-D). This review summarizes methods for root phenotyping. On the basis of this review, it can be concluded that root traits are useful characters to be included in future breeding programs and for selecting better cultivars to increase crop yield under water-limited environments.


Genetika ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 235-250 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ahmad Dadashpour

The effects of different salt sources (C Cl2, NaCl, and KCl) and concentrations, as measured by electrical conductivity, (0, "control", 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 dS m-1) on seed germination and seedling growth of ?Ferro?, ?Obez?, ?RS 841? and ?Strong Tosa F1? pumpkin varieties used as rootstock were investigated in this study. The results showed that germination rate, root length, shoot length, fresh root weight, dry root weight, fresh shoot weight and dry shoot weights tend to decrease when the electrical conductivity of the solution is higher than 5 dS m-1, independent of salt sources and in all of the varieties. Three days after seeding, a germination ratio of 5 % was obtained from RS 841 variety in all salt source and concentrations, while a germination ratio over 50 % was obtained in ?Strong Tosa? variety for the same conditions except CaCl2 salt source. Nevertheless, seeds germinated in medium having high concentrations of CaCl2 had lower germination rate and poor seedling growth, compared to media having the same concentrations of NaCl and KCl. It was concluded that all of the varieties studied were more sensitive to the concentrations prepared using CaCl2 than that of the KCl, and NaCl.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document