Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T17:22:13.391Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Germination of Medusahead in Response to Osmotic Stress

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2017

James A. Young ,
Raymond A. Evans ,
Richard O. Gifford  and
Richard E. Eckert Jr.
James A. Young
Affiliation:
Crops Research Division, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Reno, Nevada
Raymond A. Evans
Affiliation:
Crops Research Division, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Reno, Nevada
Richard O. Gifford
Affiliation:
Plant, Soil, and Water Science, University of Nevada, Reno
Richard E. Eckert Jr.
Affiliation:
Crops Research Division, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Reno, Nevada
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Requirements for germination and rate of juvenile root and shoot elongation of 23 medusahead (Taeniatherum asperum (Sim.) Nevski) selections were investigated in relation to osmotic stress. These were compared with the germination and elongation characteristics of other grasses. Aqueous solutions of different osmotic pressures were obtained by dissolving polyethylene glycol in water. Successive 4-bar increases in osmotic pressure markedly reduced medusahead germination until germination terminated at 16 bars. Other grass species exhibited higher germination than medusahead under osmotic stress. Medusahead juvenile root and shoot elongation under low and moderate osmotic pressure exceeded all other species tested.

Type
Research Article
Information
Weed Science , Volume 16 , Issue 3 , July 1968 , pp. 364 - 368
Copyright
Copyright © 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. Chippindale, H. G. 1949. Environment and germination in grass seeds. J. British Grassland Soc. 4:57–61.Google Scholar
2. Clausen, J. 1949. Genetics of climatic races of Potentilla glandulosa . Hereditas 35:162–172.Google Scholar
3. Crocker, W. and Barton, L. V. 1953. Physiology of Seeds. Chronica Botanica. Waltham, Mass. 267 p.Google Scholar
4. Evans, R. A. 1961. Effects of different densities of downy brome (Bromus tectorum) on growth and survival of crested wheatgrass (Agropyron desertorum) in the greenhouse. Weeds 2:216–223.Google Scholar
5. Helmrich, R. H. and Pfeifer, R. P. 1954. Differential varietal response of winter wheat germination and early growth to controlled limited moisture conditions. Agron. J. 46:560–562.Google Scholar
6. Hironaka, M. 1961. The relative rate of root development of cheatgrass and medusahead. J. Range Manage. 14:263–267.Google Scholar
7. Major, J., McKell, C. M., and Berry, L. J. 1960. Improvement of medusahead infested rangelands. California Agr. Ext. Serv. Leafl. 123. 2 p.Google Scholar
8. McGinnies, W. J. 1960. Effects of moisture stress and temperature on germination of six range grasses. Agron. J. 52:159–162.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
9. McKell, C. M., Robinson, J. P., and Major, J. 1962. Ecotypic variation in medusahead, an introduced annual grass. Ecol. 43:686–698.Google Scholar
10. Mayer, A. M. and Poljakoff-Mayber, A. 1963. The Germination of Seeds. Pergamon Press, Oxford. 236 p.Google Scholar
11. Parmar, M. T. and Moore, R. P. 1966. Effects of simulated drought by polyethylene glycol solutions on corn (Zea mays L.) germination and seedling development. Agron. J. 58:391–392.Google Scholar
12. Robertson, J. G. and Pearse, C. K. 1945. Artificial reseeding and the closed community. Northwest Sci. 19:58–66.Google Scholar
13. Sharp, L. A., Hironaka, M., and Tisdale, E. W. 1956. Viability of medusahead (Elymus caput-medusae L.) seed collected in Idaho. J. Range Manage. 10:123–126.Google Scholar
14. Stebbins, G. L. 1965. Colonizing species in the native California flora, p. 173–191. In Baker, H. G. and Stebbins, G. L. (ed.) The Genetics of Colonizing Species. Academic Press, New York.Google Scholar
15. Uhvits, R. 1946. Effects of osmotic pressure on water absorption and germination of alfalfa seed. Am. J. Bot. 33:278–285.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
16. Young, J. A., Evans, R. A., and Eckert, R. E. Jr. 1968. Germination of medusahead in response to temperature and after ripening. Weeds 16:92–95.Google Scholar