Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-mkpzs Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-21T23:59:23.008Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Critical water potentials for germination of wheat cultivars in the dryland Northwest USA

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2013

Prabhakar Singh ,
Hesham M. Ibrahim ,
Markus Flury ,
William F. Schillinger  and
Thorsten Knappenberger
Prabhakar Singh
Affiliation:
Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA99164, USA
Hesham M. Ibrahim
Affiliation:
Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA99164, USA Department of Soil Science, King Saud University, Riyadh11451, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Markus Flury*
Affiliation:
Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA99164, USA
William F. Schillinger
Affiliation:
Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA99164, USA
Thorsten Knappenberger
Affiliation:
Department of Crop and Soil Sciences, Washington State University, Pullman, WA99164, USA
*
*Correspondence E-mail: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Low soil water potential limits or prevents germination and emergence of rainfed winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). This phenomenon is particularly pronounced in the winter wheat–summer fallow region of the US Inland Pacific Northwest, where wheat is routinely sown deep to reach moisture with 12–15 cm of soil covering the seed. Wide differences in seedling emergence among winter wheat cultivars have been reported, but few previous experiments have examined germination differences among cultivars as a function of water potential. The objective of our laboratory study was to quantify seed germination of five commonly sown winter wheat cultivars (Moro, Xerpha, Eltan, Buchanan and Finley) at seven water potentials, ranging from 0 to − 1.5 MPa. Germination was measured as a function of time for a period of 30 d. At higher water potentials (0 to − 0.5 MPa), all cultivars had germination of more than 90%. At the lowest water potentials ( − 1.0 to − 1.25 MPa), however, Moro consistently exceeded the other cultivars for speed and extent of germination, with total germination of 74% at − 1.0 MPa and 43% at − 1.25 MPa. Since its release in 1966, Moro has been sown by farmers when seed-zone water conditions are marginal. Scientists have long known that coleoptile length is an important factor controlling winter wheat seedling emergence from deep sowing depths. In addition to having a long coleoptile, our data suggest that Moro's known excellent emergence ability from deep sowing depths in dry soils can also be attributed to the ability to germinate at lower water potentials than other cultivars.

Keywords

germinationpolyethylene glycolseed-zone waterwater potentialwinter wheat
Type
Research paper
Information
Seed Science Research , Volume 23 , Issue 3 , September 2013 , pp. 189 - 198
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

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

Al-Karaki, G.N. (1998) Response of wheat and barley during germination to seed osmopriming at different water potential. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science 181, 229–235.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Almansouri, M., Kinet, J.M. and Lutts, S. (2001) Effect of salt and osmotic stresses on germination in Durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.). Plant Soil 231, 243–254.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blum, A., Sinmena, B. and Zev, O. (1980) An evolution of seed and seedling drought tolerance screening test in wheat. Euphytica 29, 727–736.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bradford, K.J. (1990) A water relations analysis of seed germination rates. Plant Physiology 94, 840–849.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Carpita, N.C., Sabularse, D., Montezinos, D. and Delmer, D.P. (1979) Determination of the pore size of cell walls of living plant cells. Science 205, 1144–1147.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Dhanda, S.S., Sethi, G.S. and Behl, R.K. (2004) Indices of drought tolerance in wheat genotypes at early stages of plant growth. Journal of Agronomy and Crop Science 190, 6–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Donaldson, E. (1993) Registration of Buchanan wheat. Crop Science 33, 878.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Donaldson, E. (1996) Crop traits for water stress tolerance. American Journal of Alternative Agriculture 11, 89–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Donaldson, E., Sauer, B., Lyon, S.R., Morris, C.F. and Line, R.F. (2000) Registration of Finley wheat. Crop Science 40, 1197–1198.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Godfray, H.C.J., Beddington, J.R., Crute, I.R., Haddad, L., Lawrence, D., Muir, J.F., Pretty, J., Robinson, S., Thomas, S.M. and Toulmin, C. (2010) Food security: The challenge to feeding 9 billion people. Science 327, 812–818.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gul, A. and Allan, R.E. (1976) Stand establishment of wheat lines under different levels of water potential. Crop Science 16, 611–615.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gummerson, R.J. (1986) The effect of constant temperatures and osmotic potentials on the germination of sugar beet. Journal of Experimental Botany 37, 729–741.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hadas, A. and Stibbe, E. (1977) Soil crusting and emergence of wheat seedlings. Agronomy Journal 69, 547–550.Google Scholar
Hardegree, S.P. and Emmerich, W.E. (1990) Effect of polyethylene glycol exclusion on the water potential of solution-saturated filter paper. Plant Physiology 92, 462–466.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hardegree, S.P. and Emmerich, W.E. (1992) Effect of matric-priming duration and priming water potential on germination of four grasses. Journal of Experimental Botany 247, 233–238.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hardegree, S.P. and Van Vactor, S.S. (1999) Predicting germination response of four cool-season range grasses to field variable temperature regimes. Environmental and Experimental Botany 41, 209–217.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hegarty, T.W. (1978) The physiology of seed hydration and dehydration and the relation between water stress and the control of germination: A review. Plant Cell and Environment 1, 101–119.Google Scholar
IPPC (2007) Fourth assessment report: Climate change 2007, the AR4 synthesis report. Geneva, Switzerland, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.Google Scholar
Jones, S.S., Lyon, S.R., Balow, K.A., Gollnick, M.A., Murphy, K.M., Kuehner, J.S., Murray, T.D., Chen, X.M., Engle, D.A. and Campbell, K.G. (2010) Registration of Xerpha wheat. Journal of Plant Registrations 4, 137–140.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaya, M.D., Okcu, G., Atak, M., Cikih, Y. and Kolsarici, O. (2006) Seed treatments to overcome salt and drought stress during germination in sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.). European Journal of Agronomy 24, 291–295.Google Scholar
Lafond, G.P. and Baker, R.J. (1986) Effects of genotype and seed size on speed of emergence and seedling vigor in nine spring wheat cultivars. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 26, 341–346.Google Scholar
Lafond, G.P. and Fowler, D.B. (1989) Soil temperature and water content, seeding depth, and simulated rainfall effects on winter wheat emergence. Agronomy Journal 81, 609–614.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lagerwerff, J.V., Ogata, G. and Eagle, H.E. (1961) Control of osmotic pressure of culture solutions with polyethylene glycol. Science 133, 1486–1487.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lenzi, A., Fambrini, M., Barotti, S., Pugliesi, C. and Vernieri, P. (1995) Seed germination and seedling growth in a wilty mutant of sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.): effect of abscisic acid and osmotic potential. Environmental and Experimental Botany 35, 427–434.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lindstrom, M.J., Papendick, R.I. and Koehler, F.E. (1976) A model to predict winter wheat emergence as affected by soil temperature, water potential, and depth of planting. Agronomy Journal 68, 137–141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Livingston, N.J. and de Jong, E. (1990) Matric and osmotic potential effects on seedling emergence at different temperature. Agronomy Journal 82, 995–998.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lyles, L. and Fanning, C.D. (1964) Effects of presoaking, moisture tension, and soil salinity on the emergence of grain sorghum. Agronomy Journal 56, 518–520.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Michel, B.E. (1983) Evaluation of the water potentials of solutions of polyethylene glycol 8000 both in the absence and presence of other solutes. Plant Physiology 72, 66–70.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Michel, B.E. and Kaufmann, M.R. (1973) The osmotic potential of polyethylene glycol 6000. Plant Physiology 51, 914–916.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Michel, B.E., Wiggins, O.K. and Outlaw, W.H. Jr (1983) A guide to establishing water potential of aqueous two-phase solutions (polyethylene glycol plus dextran) by amendment with mannitol. Plant Physiology 72, 60–65.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Money, N.P. (1989) Osmotic pressure of aqueous polyethylene glycols. Plant Physiology 91, 766–769.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Murungu, F.S. (2011) Effects of seed priming and water potential on seed germination and emergence of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) varieties in laboratory assays and in the field. African Journal of Biotechnology 10, 4365–4371.Google Scholar
Murungu, F.S., Nyamugafata, P., Chiduza, C., Clark, L.J. and Whalley, W.R. (2003) Effects of seed priming, aggregate size and soil matric potential on emergence of cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) and maize (Zea mays L.). Soil and Tillage Research 74, 161–168.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Owen, P. (1952) The relation of germination of wheat to water potential. Journal of Experimental Botany 31, 188–203.Google Scholar
Patane, C., Cavallaro, V. and Cosentino, S.L. (2009) Germination and radical growth in unprimed and primed seeds of sweet sorghum as affected by reduced water potential in NaCl at different temperatures. Industrial Crops and Products 30, 1–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pawloski, M.C. and Shaykewich, C.F. (1972) Germination of wheat as affected by soil water stress. Canadian Journal of Plant Science 52, 619–623.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Peterson, C.J., Allan, R.E., Rubenthaler, G.L. and Line, R.F. (1991) Registration of Eltan wheat. Crop Science 31, 1704.Google Scholar
Rebetzke, G.J., Richards, R.A., Fettell, N.A., Long, M., Condon, A.G., Forrester, R.I. and Botwright, T.L. (2007) Genotypic increases in coleoptile length improves stand establishment, vigour and grain yield of deep-sown wheat. Field Crop Research 100, 10–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Redmann, R.E. (1974) Osmotic and specific ion effects on the germination of alfalfa. Canadian Journal of Botany 52, 803–808.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rinaldi, M., Paolo, E.D., Richter, G.M. and Rayne, R.W. (2005) Modelling the effect of soil moisture on germination and emergence of wheat and sugar beet with the minimum number of parameters. Annals of Applied Biology 147, 69–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rohde, C.R. (1966) Registration of Moro wheat. Crop Science 6, 502.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schillinger, W.F., Donaldson, E., Allan, R.E. and Jones, S.S. (1998) Winter wheat seeding emergence from deep sowing depth. Agronomy Journal 90, 582–586.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sharma, M.L. (1973) Simulation of drought and its effect on germination of five pasture species. Agronomy Journal 65, 982–987.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Simon, E. (1984) Early events in germination. pp. 77–115in Murray, D. (Ed.) Seed physiology, Vol. 2, Germination and reserve mobilization. Orlando, FL, Academic Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Studdert, G.A., Wilhelm, W.W. and Power, J.F. (1994) Imbibition response of winter wheat to water-filled pore space. Agronomy Journal 86, 995–1000.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tingey, D.T. and Stockwell, C. (1977) Semipermeable membrane system for subjecting plants to water stress. Plant Physiology 60, 58–60.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tobe, K., Li, X. and Omasa, K. (2000) Seed germination and radicle growth of a halophyte, Kalidium caspicum (Chenopodiaceae). Annals of Botany 85, 391–396.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, R., Bai, Y. and Tanino, K. (2005) Germination of winterfat (Eurotia lanata (Pursh) Moq.) seeds at reduced water potentials: testing assumptions of hydrothermal time model. Environmental and Experimental Botany 53, 49–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Welch, B.L. (1947) The generalization of students problem when several different population variances are involved. Biometrika 34, 28–35.Google ScholarPubMed
Williams, J. and Shaykewich, C.F. (1969) An evaluation of polyethylene glycol PEG 6000 and PEG 20,000 in the osmotic control of soil water matric potential. Canadian Journal of Soil Science 49, 397–401.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wuest, S.B. and Lutcher, L.K. (2012) Soil water potential requirement for germination of winter wheat. Soil Science Society of America Journal 77, 279–283.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wuest, S.B., Albrecht, S.L. and Skirvin, K.W. (1999) Vapor transport vs. seed-soil contact in wheat germination. Agronomy Journal 91, 783–787.CrossRefGoogle Scholar