Silvereyes, Zosterops lateralis Latham, commonly feed on kiwifruit rejected for export and either stored in open bins at packhouses or in piles ready to be fed to livestock, and may play a role in the spread of wild kiwifruit in native and exotic forest in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand. We determined the germination rate and percentage germination of Actinidia chinensis Planch. seed sown (1) a...

Genebank managers conduct viability tests on stored seeds so they can replace lots that have viability near a critical threshold, such as 50 or 85 % germination. Currently, these tests are typically scheduled at uniform intervals; testing every 5 years is common. A manager needs to balance the cost of an additional test against the possibility of losing a seed lot due to late retesting. We deve...

The regeneration of plant communities from seed depends, to a large extent, on the capacity of the seed remaining viable in the soil. The viability and germination of artificially buried Psychotria vellosiana seeds in cerrado soil were studied, with the purpose of discovering some physio-ecological aspects of dispersed seeds and evaluating their potential to constitute a soil seed bank. Seed sa...

In this study, the phytotoxicity of seven metal oxide nanoparticles(NPs)-titanium dioxide (nTiO₂), silicon dioxide (nSiO₂), cerium dioxide (nCeO₂), magnetite (nFe₃O₄), aluminum oxide (nAl₂O₃), zinc oxide (nZnO) and copper oxide (nCuO)-was assessed on two agriculturally significant crop plants (maize and rice). The results showed that seed germination was not affected by any of the seven metal o...

Five gradient concentrations (0.02, 0.04, 0.06, 0.08, and 0.10 g/mL) of leaching liquors from the roots, stems, and leaves of the invasive plant Bidens frondosa were used as conditioning fluid to examine its influence on seed germination conditions of the native plant Geum japonicum var. chinense in Huangshan. All leaching liquors of organs suppressed the seed germination of Geum japonicum var....

Effects of temperature, storage time and their combination on germination of aspen (Populus tomentosa) seeds were investigated. Aspen seeds were germinated at 5 to 30°C at 5°C intervals after storage for a period of time under 28°C and 75% relative humidity. The effect of temperature on aspen seed germination could not be effectively described by the thermal time (TT) model, which underestimate...

Temperature ( T ) and water potential ( y ) are two primary environmental regulators of seed germination. Seeds exhibit a base or minimum T for germination ( T b ), an optimum T at which germination is most rapid ( T o ), and a maximum or ceiling T at which germination is prevented ( T c ). Germination at suboptimal T can be characterized on the basis of thermal time, or the T in excess of T b ...

The physiological process of germination depends on several environmental factors such as temperature, water potential, light, nutrients and smoke. Water and temperature are determinant factors for seed germination. Both factors can, separately or jointly, affect the germination percentage and germination rate. The effect of temperature on germination and water potential on germination canoften...

Biocontrol agents isolated outside Africa have performed inconsistently under field conditions in Africa. The development of indigenous phytobeneficial microbial strains that suit local environments may help enhance competitiveness with in situ microorganisms and effectiveness at suppressing local pathogen strains. We isolated bacteria from the rhizosphere of maize growing in southwestern Niger...