Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-rdxmf Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T22:56:58.294Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The influence of sowing depth and seed press wheel weighting on seedling emergence of crisp lettuce

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 March 2009

D. C. E. Wurr  and
Jane R. Fellows
D. C. E. Wurr
Affiliation:
National Vegetable Research Station, Wellesbourne, Warwick, CV35 9EF
Jane R. Fellows
Affiliation:
National Vegetable Research Station, Wellesbourne, Warwick, CV35 9EF
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

The effects on emergence and growth of crisp lettuce seedlings as a result of sowing seeds at different depths and pressing them into the furrow bottom with a weighted seed press wheel were examined in three similar experiments in 1982, 1983 and 1984. Sowing depth had a considerable effect on percentage seedling emergence and the spread of emergence times but the pattern of response varied from year to year and appeared to be related to differences in soil moisture content. The most uniform emergence and the highest level of emergence were achieved by sowing shallowly (< 10 mm) with rainfall almost immediately after sowing then keeping the soil moisture content close to field capacity for 2 days. When rainfall or irrigation were delayed, drilling 15–20 mm deep gave more consistent results. Effects on seedling weight and variability of weight were associated with the time and uniformity of seedling emergence. Later emerging seedlings were lighter and a wide spread of emergence times gave seedlings of variable weight. There was virtually no effect on emergence of using additional weights on a seed press wheel.

Type
Research Article
Information
The Journal of Agricultural Science , Volume 104 , Issue 3 , June 1985 , pp. 631 - 636
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1985

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Bleasdale, J. K. A. (1982). The importance of crop establishment. Annals of Applied Biology 101, 411–419.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowers, C. G. & Bowen, H. D. (1975). Drying front sensing and signal evaluation for planters. Transactions of the American Society of Agricultural Engineers 18, 1051–1056.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bufton, L. P. (1978). The influence of seed-drill design on the spatial arrangement of seedlings and on seed-ling-emergence. Acta Horticultural 72, 135–157.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Choudhary, M. A. & Baker, C. J. (1982). Effects of drill coulter design and soil moisture status on emergence of wheat seedlings. Soil and Tillage Research 2, 131–142.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Collis-George, N. & Williams, J. (1968). Comparison of the effects of soil matric potential and isotopic effective stress on the germination of Lactuca sativa. Australian Journal of Soil Research 6, 179–192.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Doneen, L. D. & Mcgillivray, J. H. (1943). Germination (emergence) of vegetable seed as affected by different soil moisture contents. Plant Physiology 18, 524–529.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Durrant, M. & Loads, A. (1984). Pellets old and new – some observations from Broom's Barn. British Sugar Beet Review 52, No. 3, 56–58.Google Scholar
Flake, E. & Brinkman, W. (1979). Untersuchungen zur Sicherung des Feldaufganges von Zuckerrüben. Zuckerindwtrie 104, 199–206.Google Scholar
Flake, E. & Brinkman, W. (1980). Untersuchungen zur Sicherung des Feldaufgangea von Zuckerrüben unter praxisüblichen Bedingungen. Zuckerindustrie 105, 755–762.Google Scholar
Hadas, A. & Stibbe, E. (1973). An analysis of soil water movement towards seedlings prior to emergence. In Physical Aspects of Soil Water and Salts in Ecosystems: Ecological Studies, vol. 4, pp. 97–106. London: Chapman & Hall.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harper, J. L. & Benton, R. A. (1966). The behaviour of seeds in soil. II. The germination of seeds on the surface of a water supplying substrate. Journal of Ecology 54, 151–166.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hegarty, T. W. (1977). Seed activation and seed germination under moisture stress. New Phytologist 78, 349–359.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hegarty, T. W. (1978). Seed and soil factors affecting the level and rate of emergence. Acta Horticulturae 72, 11–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heydecker, W. (1956). Establishment of seedlings in the field. I. Influence of sowing depth on seedling emergence. Journalof Horticultural Science 31, 76–88.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Orchard, T. J. (1977). Estimating the parameters of plant seedling emergence. Seed Science and Technology 5, 61–69.Google Scholar
Øyjord, E. (1963). A universal experimental seed drill. Journal of Agricultural Engineering Research 8, 85–87.Google Scholar
Pauli, A. W. & Harriot, B. L. (1968). Lettuce seed selection and treatment for precision planting. Agricultural Engineering – Michigan 49, 18–24.Google Scholar
Royle, S. M. & Hegarty, T. W. (1977). Soil impedance and field emergence in calabrese. Journal of Horticultural Science 52, 535–543.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sale, P. J. M. & Harrison, D. J. (1964). Seedling emergence as affected by soil capping. Journal of Horticultural Science 1939, 147–161.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siegel, S. (1956). Nonparametric Statistics for the Behavioural Sciences. New York: McGraw-Hill; Tokyo: Kōgakusha.Google Scholar
Sperlingsson, C. (1981). The influence of the seed bed soil physical environment on seedling growth and establishment. Proceedings of the 44th Winter Congress of the International Institute for Sugar Beet Research, Brussels, pp. 59–77.Google Scholar
Stibbe, E. & Terpstra, R. (1982). Effect of penetration resistance on emergence and early growth of silage corn in a laboratory experiment with sandy loam. Soil and Tillage Research 2, 143–153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, A. & Barnes, A. (1981). Simulation of herbicide persistence in soil; a revised computer model. Pesticide Science 12, 123–132.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wurr, D. C. E. & Fellows, J. R. (1983). The effect of the time of seedling emergence of crisp lettuce on the time of maturity and head weight at maturity. Journal of Horticultural Science 58, 561–566.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zahara, M. (1969). Lettuce emergence as affected by depth of seeding. California Agriculture 23, 19.Google Scholar