Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-gb8f7 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-26T03:24:04.552Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Dynamics of Yellow Starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis) Achenes in Field and Laboratory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2017

Donald B. Joley
Affiliation:
Calif. Dep. Food & Agric., 3288 Meadowview Rd., Sacramento, CA 95832
Donald M. Maddox
Affiliation:
West. Reg. Res. Ctr., Agric. Res. Serv., U.S. Dep. Agric., Plant Prot., 800 Buchanan St., Albany, CA 94710
David M. Supkoff
Affiliation:
Calif. Dep. Food & Agric., 3288 Meadowview Rd., Sacramento, CA 95832
Aubrey Mayfield
Affiliation:
West. Reg. Res. Ctr., Agric. Res. Serv., U.S. Dep. Agric., Plant Prot., 800 Buchanan St., Albany, CA 94710

Abstract

Studies were conducted to compare changes in germinability and/or viability of yellow starthistle achenes buried (in packets) in soil or stored dry in the laboratory, and to determine the rate of achene depletion from a soil seed bank. In one study, after 72 mo, 0 to 96% germinable achenes remained in packets buried 5 cm deep, and a mean above 99% after dry storage. In another study, total live (germinable plus viable) achenes declined from 100% at harvest to 77.6% after 24 mo of burial. Germinable pappus-bearing achenes remaining in packets increased with depth of burial. After 12 mo of burial, maximum survival of achenes occurred at depths of 5 cm or more. The density of yellow starthistle achenes and seedlings in a natural soil seed bank declined, when achene rain was prevented, to 3.9 and 1.1% of initial density, respectively, after 36 mo. Decline was attributed primarily to seedling emergence and achene death. Achene density in the upper 2.5 cm of soil appeared to be a good predictor of seedling emergence after autumn rains.

Type
Weed Biology and Ecology
Copyright
Copyright © 1992 by the Weed Science Society of America 

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

Literature Cited

1. Anonymous. 1980. Soil Survey of Placer County, California (Western Part). USDA Soil Conserv. Serv. in cooperation with Univ. California Exp. Sin. 204 pp.Google Scholar
2. Callihan, R. H., Sheley, R. L., and Thill, D. C. 1982. Yellow starthistle identification and control. Univ. Idaho Curr. Inf. Ser. No. 634. 4 pp.Google Scholar
3. Crawley, M. J. 1983. Herbivory, the dynamics of animal-plant interactions. Page 70. Univ. California Press, Berkeley. 437 pp.Google Scholar
4. Grime, J. P., Mason, G., Curtis, A. V., Rodman, J., Band, S. R., Mowforth, M.A.G., Neal, A. M., and Shaw, S. 1981. A comparative study of germination characteristics in a local flora. J. Ecol. 69:10171059.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5. Holm, R. E. 1972. Volatile metabolites controlling germination in buried weed seeds. Plant Physiol. 50:293297.Google Scholar
6. Maddox, D. M. 1981. Introduction, phenology, and density of yellow starthistle in coastal, intercoastal, and central valley situations in California. U.S. Dep. Agric. Res. Serv., Agric. Res. Results. ARR-W-20/July. 33 pp.Google Scholar
7. Maddox, D. M. and Mayfield, A. 1985. Yellow starthistle infestations are on the increase. California Agric. 39:1012.Google Scholar
8. Maddox, D. M., Mayfield, A., and Poritz, N. 1985. Distribution of yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis) and Russian knapweed (Centaurea repens). Weed Sci. 33:315327.Google Scholar
9. SAS User's Guide: Statistics. Version 6 ed. 1987. SAS Inst., Inc., Cary, NC.Google Scholar
10. Snedecor, G. W. and Cochran, W. G. 1980. Pages 253254 in Statistical Methods. 7th ed. Iowa State Univ. Press, Ames, IA.Google Scholar
11. Sokal, R. R. and Rohlf, F. J. 1981. Pages 427428 in Biometry. 2nd ed. W. H. Freeman and Co., New York.Google Scholar
12. Thompson, K. and Grime, J. P. 1983. A comparative study of germination responses to diurnally-fluctuating temperatures. J. Appl. Ecol. 20:141156.Google Scholar
13. Vincent, E. M. and Roberts, E. H. 1977. The interaction of light, nitrate and alternating temperature in promoting the germination of dormant seeds of common weed species. Seed Sci. Technol. 5:659670.Google Scholar
14. Wesson, G. and Wareing, P. F. 1969a. The role of light in the germination of naturally occurring populations of buried weed seeds. J. Exp. Bot. 20:401413.Google Scholar
15. Wesson, G. and Wareing, P. F. 1969b. The induction of light sensitivity in weed seeds by burial. J. Exp. Bot. 20:414425.Google Scholar
16. Yadav, A. S. and Tripathi, R. S. 1982. A study on seed population dynamics of three weedy species of Eupatorium . Weed Res. 22:6976.Google Scholar