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The Fate of Yellow Nutsedge (Cyperus Esculentus) Seed and Seedlings in Soil

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2017

Jon Lapham  and
Donald S. H. Drennan
Jon Lapham
Affiliation:
Agric. Manage. Div., P.O. Box 373, Harare, Zimbabwe
Donald S. H. Drennan
Affiliation:
Dep. Agric. Bot. Plant Sci. Lab., Univ. Reading, Whiteknights, Reading RG6 2AH, U.K.
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Abstract

Changes in dormancy and viability of freshly harvested seed of yellow nutsedge buried in the field, at depths of 5, 25, and 50 mm, were studied over a 2-yr period. The number of dormant, viable seed decreased most rapidly at 5 mm because more seed lost their dormancy and germinated (up to 30%) than at lower depths. Loss of viability through decay of seed appeared similar at all depths. No seedlings emerged from any depth. In a laboratory experiment, conducted in optimal soil moisture conditions, seedlings emerged from all seed that germinated, demonstrating that adequate soil moisture was critical for seedling establishment. This was substantiated in a second field experiment in which irrigation and mulching greatly increased seedling survival. The number of seedlings surviving in irrigated plots was 0.78% of seed sown and 0.03% in the rain-fed plots. The role of seed in the establishment of yellow nutsedge infestations is probably of little importance in dryland cropping areas despite the longevity and viability of the seed.

Keywords

Yellow nutsedge, Cyperus esculentus L. ♯ CYPESSeed longevitydormancyviabilityZimbabweCYPES
Type
Weed Biology and Ecology
Information
Weed Science , Volume 38 , Issue 2 , March 1990 , pp. 125 - 128
Copyright
Copyright © 1990 by the Weed Science Society of America 

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References

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