BACKGROUND AND AIMS Germination studies of species from fire-prone habitats are often focused on the role that fire plays in breaking dormancy. However, for some plant groups in these habitats, such as the genus Leucopogon (Ericaceae), dormancy of fresh seeds is not broken by fire cues. In the field, these same species display a flush of seedling emergence post-fire. Dormancy and germination me...

The dormancy status of S. faberi seed at abscission was assessed with reference to tiller and panicle development. Seed from a single genetic line were grown under field, greenhouse and controlled environment growth chamber conditions. At abscission, a small fraction (<10%) of S. faberi seed germinated under favorable conditions. Seed were dissected and germination of caryopses and embryos also...

In an ecological context, knowledge of intra-species variation in dormancy and germination is necessary both for practical and theoretical reasons. We used four or five seed batches (replicates) of four closely related annuals co-occurring in arable fields in Sweden: Lamium amplexicaule, L. confertum, L. hybridum and L. purpureum. Seeds used for experiments stemmed from plants cultivated on two...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Formation of seed banks and dormancy cycling are well known in annual species, but not in woody species. In this study it was hypothesized that the long-lived halophytic cold desert shrub Kalidium gracile has a seed bank and dormancy cycling, which help restrict germination to a favourable time for seedling survival. METHODS Fresh seeds were buried in November 2009 and exh...

Seed dormancy determines the timing of germination, thereby contributing to successful seedling establishment and plant fitness. The induction and release of dormancy are controlled by various regulators like plant hormones and dormancy proteins. The relative strengths of these regulators are influenced by environmental factors during seed maturation and storage. In the last few years additiona...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Pathogen-seed interactions may involve a race for seed resources, so that seeds that germinate more quickly, mobilizing reserves, will be more likely to escape seed death than slow-germinating seeds. This race-for-survival hypothesis was tested for the North American seed pathogen Pyrenophora semeniperda on seeds of the annual grass Bromus tectorum, an invasive plant in Nort...

Strong seed dormancy has been an obstacle for field production of Echinacea species. Previous research on overcoming Echinacea seed dormancy has been extensive and focused on treatment methods, which involve time and expense, and are incompatible with organic production if synthetic chemicals are used. We have attempted to genetically reduce seed dormancy through selection and breeding in Echin...

The efficiency of conventional stratification methods for seed germination of walnut (Juglans regia L.), which uses long moist-chilling periods, is low. This experiment was conducted during winter to spring 2014 to optimize the seed germination of walnut ‘Chandler’ via changing growing media and removing seed mechanical dormancy. Fourteen treatments were tested. None of the seeds germi...

Freshly harvested seed of #1339-1-5, a selection miiade by the late C. H. MYERS, from Wisconsin Hollander, and various strains of Glory cabbage exhibit a pronounced dormancy and uneven germination, thus extending the breeding cycle from 1 to 2 years. This type of dormancy gradually disappears during several weeks of air-dry storage at room temperature, but by this time it is too late for field ...