PREMISE OF THE STUDY Mammalian herbivores, particularly white-tailed deer, can have a major impact on plant abundance and distribution. However, plants can tolerate herbivory by increasing seed production or seed quality. We used the monocarpic perennial Prenanthes roanensis to examine tolerance to mammalian herbivory through seed quality and modeled the effects of tolerance on population growt...

Germination provides many potentially unrecognized sources of variation in the regeneration niche. In this study we relate germination requirements and seed size for 16 species of pioneer trees to microclimatic conditions present in gaps in semi-deciduous rain forest in Panama. We found that, whereas increased duration of direct irradiance can be an effective indicator of the presence of a cano...

Spergularia marina (Caryophyllaceae) is a halophytic species and widely distributed among the sea shores of Turkey. Its seeds maybe unwinged or winged. Laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the effects of salinity (0, 50, 100 and 500 mM NaCl) and temperature (10, 15, 25, 30, 35 degrees C) on seed germination. S. marina showed 73.3% germination in non-saline controls at 25 degrees C...

Podocarpus angustifolius is an endangered recalcitrant-seeded small tree, endemic to mountain rain forests in the central and Pinar del Río regions in Cuba. In this study, the germination patterns of P. angustifolius seeds were evaluated and the nature of the soil seed bank was determined. Using a weighted two-factor design, we analyzed the combined germination response to seed source (i.e. fre...

Seed size is a plastic trait of the plants that directly affect seed germination and seedling recruitment. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between seed size, seed germinability and seedling performance of Copaifera langsdorffii by testing four hypotheses: 1) larger seeds have higher germination percentage; 2) smaller seeds require less time to germinate and for initial developm...

-1,3-Glucanase ( Glu) expression in seeds plays important roles in the regulation of seed germination, dormancy and in the defence against seed pathogens. A thick -1,3-glucan layer is typical for the seed envelope of cucurbitaceous species, confers seed semipermeability and is degraded during germination. In many species with coat-imposed dormancy, the seed envelope confers a physical constrain...

Experiments were conducted during January 2009 at CSIR-Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, (HP) India to study the effect of light and temperature on seed germination of important medicinal and aromatic plants viz., Stevia rebaudiana, Salvia sclarea and Tagetes minuta in sand and filter paper. The treatments comprised of two factors viz., light and temperature regimes under...

Hydrogen peroxide was initially recognized as a toxic molecule that causes damage at different levels of cell organization and thus losses in cell viability. From the 1990s, the role of hydrogen peroxide as a signaling molecule in plants has also been discussed. The beneficial role of H2O2 as a central hub integrating signaling network in response to biotic and abiotic stress and during develop...

Seed imbibition under cold temperature is dangerous when dry seeds have relatively low water content. The aim of this study was to investigate germination of 20 lines/cultivars of narrow-leaf lupine at 7 °C (cold) and 13 °C (control) under the influence of smoke water and following seed hydropriming for 3 h at 20 °C. The efficacy of individual treatments was examined with regard to seed protect...