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The effects of depth and fluctuating soil moisture on the emergence of eight annual and six perennial plant species

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Nathan S. Boyd  and
Rene C. Van Acker
Rene C. Van Acker
Affiliation:
Department of Plant Science, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3T 2N2
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Abstract

Weed seedling emergence is partially dependent on biotic and abiotic conditions directly surrounding the seed. When environmental conditions are appropriate, seed germination and emergence occurs. We studied the impact of seeding depth (surface, 1 to 2, 3 to 4, and 6 to 7 cm) and fluctuating soil moisture regimes (field capacity [FC]–1/3FC–FC; FC–1/6FC–FC) on percent weed emergence in a greenhouse. At FC, wild mustard and field pennycress had the greatest percent emergence when seeds were placed on or near the soil surface, whereas percent emergence of barnyardgrass and round-leaved mallow was unaffected by seeding depth. All the perennials tested had the greatest percent emergence at FC when seeds were placed near or on the soil surface, except for common milkweed which only emerged below the soil surface. When soil moisture levels fluctuated, surface seeds of barnyardgrass, catchweed bedstraw, green foxtail, wheat, and wild oat had less emergence than seeds below the soil surface; field pennycress had increased emergence when the seeds were placed on the surface; and round-leaved mallow and wild mustard emergence was unaffected by seeding depth. The emergence of curly dock, dandelion, and perennial sowthistle was unaffected by seeding depth, whereas foxtail barley and quackgrass emergence was reduced when seeds were placed on the surface and soil moisture fluctuated.

Keywords

Barnyardgrass, Echinochloa crus-galli L. ECHCGcatchweed bedstraw, Galium aparine L. GALAPcommon milkweed, Asclepias syriaca L. ASCSYcurly dock, Rumex crispus L. RUMCRdandelion, Taraxacum officinale Weber in Wiggers TAROFfield pennycress, Thlaspi arvense L. THLARfoxtail barley, Hordeum jubatum L. HORJUgreen foxtail, Setaria viridis (L.) Beauv. SETVIperennial sowthistle, Sonchus arvensis L. SONARquackgrass, Elytrigia repens (L.) Nevski AGGREround-leaved mallow, Malva pusilla Sm. MALSUspring wheat, Triticum aestivum L. ‘AC Barrie’ wild mustard, Brassica kaber (D.C.) L.C. Wheeler SINARwild oat, Avena fatua L. AVEFASeedling emergencesoil depthsoil moisturemicrositegermination
Type
Weed Biology
Information
Weed Science , Volume 51 , Issue 5 , October 2003 , pp. 725 - 730
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

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References

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