Hostname: page-component-7dd5485656-wjfd9 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2025-10-30T14:23:56.008Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Seed quality, cotyledon elongation at suboptimal temperatures, and the yield of onion

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2008

T. R. Wheeler  and
R. H. Ellis
T. R. Wheeler
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, University of Reading, Earley Gate, PO Box 236, Reading RG6 2AT, UK
R. H. Ellis*
Affiliation:
Department of Agriculture, University of Reading, Earley Gate, PO Box 236, Reading RG6 2AT, UK
*
* Correspondence
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Cotyledon length in onion (Allium cepa, cv. White Lisbon) was linearly related to time from radicle emergence until the formation of the cotyledon hook, but thereafter increased exponentially with time. Within each phase the rate of cotyledon elongation was linearly related to temperature, and these relations were similar among seeds from several percentiles of the germinating populations of three contrasting seed lots. The mean base temperature was 1.4°C. These thermal time relations closely predicted the elongation of cotyledons of seedlings from cohorts of early- and lategerminators from a further lot of this cultivar at two suboptimal temperatures. Eleven cohorts of seedlings from seeds of differing quality were transplanted to the field on both the same date and at the same time from visible germination. The plants were harvested 59 days later. No effect of seed quality on mean plant weight, mean bulb diameter, or interplant variation in bulb diameter was detected. It is concluded that the rate of pre- and post-emergence seedling growth in onion is independent of environmentally induced differences in seed quality (seed vigour). Thus, any effect of this factor on plant size or crop yield, at a given density, is solely a function of time to germinate.

Keywords

Allium cepa L.cotyledon elongationonionseed qualityseed vigourthermal timeyield

Information

Type
Research Papers
Information
Seed Science Research , Volume 1 , Issue 1 , March 1991 , pp. 57 - 67
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1991

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.)

Article purchase

Temporarily unavailable

References

Anon. (1985a) International rules for seed testing. Rules 1985. Seed Science and Technology 13, 299–355.Google Scholar
Anon. (1985b) International rules for seed testing. Annexes 1985. Seed Science and Technology 13, 356–513.Google Scholar
Argerich, C.A. and Bradford, K.J. (1989) The effects of priming and ageing on seed vigour in tomato. Journal of Experimental Botany 40, 599–607.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arnott, R.A. (1975) A quantitative analysis of the endosperm-dependent seedling growth in grasses. Annals of Botany 39, 757–765.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bierhuizen, J.F. and Wagenvoort, W.A. (1974) Some aspects of seed germination in vegetables. I. The determination and application of heat sums and minimum temperature for germination. Scientia Horticulturae 2, 213–219.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blacklow, W.M. (1972) Influence of temperature on germination and elongation of the radicle and shoot of corn. Crop Science 12, 647–650.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blacklow, W.M. (1973) Simulation model to predict germination and emergence of corn in an environment of changing temperature. Crop Science 13, 604–608.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bleasdale, J.K.A. (1966) The effects of plant spacing on the yield of bulb onions grown from seed. Journal of Horticultural Science 41, 145–153.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brocklehurst, P.A. and Dearman, J. (1983) Interactions between seed priming treatments and nine seed lots of carrot, celery and onion. II. Seedling emergence and plant growth. Annals of Applied Biology 102, 585–593.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brocklehurst, P.A., Dearman, J. and Drew, R.L.K. (1984) Effects of osmotic potential on seed germination and seedling growth in leek. Scientia Horticulturae 24, 201–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carberry, P.S. and Campbell, L.C. (1989) Temperature parameters useful for modelling the germination and emergence of pearl millet. Crop Science 29, 220–223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, R.H. (1989) The effect of differences in seed quality resulting from priming or deterioration on the relative growth rate of onion seedlings. Acta Horticulturae 253, 203–211.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, R.H. and Butcher, P.D. (1988) The effects of priming and ‘natural’ differences in quality amongst onion seed lots on the response of the rate of germination to temperature and the identification of the characteristics under genotypic control. Journal of Experimental Botany 39, 935–950.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, R.H. and Roberts, E.H. (1980) Towards a rational basis for testing seed quality. pp 605–635 in Hebblethwaite, P.D. (Ed.) Seed production. London, Butterworths.Google Scholar
Ellis, R.H. and Roberts, E.H. (1981) The quantification of ageing and survival in orthodox seeds. Seed Science and Technology 9, 373–409.Google Scholar
Ellis, R.H., Covell, S., Roberts, E.H. and Summerfield, R.J. (1986) The influence of temperature on seed germination rate in grain legumes. II. Intraspecific variation in chickpea (Cicer arietinum L.) at constant temperatures. Journal of Experimental Botany 37, 1503–1515.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Finch-Savage, W.E. (1984) Effects of fluid drilling germinating onion seeds on seedling emergence and subsequent plant growth. Journal of Agricultural Science, Cambridge 102, 461–468.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Finch-Savage, W.E. (1986) A study of the relationship between seedling characters and the rate of germination within a seed lot. Annals of Applied Biology 108, 441–444.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Finch-Savage, W.E. (1987) A comparison of seedling emergence and early seedling growth from dry-sown natural and fluid-drilled pregerminated onion (Allium cepa L.) seeds in the field. Journal of Horticultural Science 62, 39–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harrison, B.J. (1966) Seed deterioration in relation to storage conditions and its influence upon germination. chromosomal damage, and plant performance. Journal of the National Institute of Agricultural Botany 10, 644–663.Google Scholar
Hatfield, J.L. and Egli, D.B. (1974) Effect of temperature on the rate of soybean hypocotyl elongation and field emergence. Crop Science 14, 423–426.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Heydecker, W. (1977) Stress and seed germination: an agronomic view. pp 237–282 in Khan, A.A. (Ed.) The physiology and biochemistry of seed dormancy and germination. Amsterdam, New York, Oxford, Elsevier/North-HollandBiomedical Press.Google Scholar
Hsu, F.H., Nelson, C.J. and Chow, W.S. (1984) A mathematical model to utilize the logistic function in germination and seedling growth. Journal of Experimental Botany 35, 1629–1640.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kaufmann, M.L. (1984) Optimum seed size. pp 1–22 in Gupta, U.S. (Ed.) Crop physiology: advancing frontiers. Oxford, UK, IBH Publishing Co.Google Scholar
Khah, E.M., Roberts, E.H. and Ellis, R.H. (1989) Effects of seed ageing on growth and yield of spring wheat at different plant-population densities. Field Crops Research 20, 175–190.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lipe, W.N. and Skinner, J.A. (1979) Effect of sowing pregerminated onion seeds in cold soil on time of emergence, maturity and yield. HortScience 14, 238–239.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Monteith, J.L. (1977) Climate. pp 1–25 in Alvim, P. de T. and Kozlowski, T.T. (Eds) Ecophysiology of tropical crops. New York, Academic Press.Google Scholar
Perry, D.A. (1978) Report of the vigour test committee, 1974–1977. Seed Science and Technology 6, 159–181.Google Scholar
Røeggen, O. (1989) Supercooling and minimum germination temperature below 0°C in vegetable species. Seed Science and Technology 17, 243–248.Google Scholar
Scott, S.J. and Jones, R.A. (1985) Cold tolerance in tomato. 1. Seed germination and early seedling growth of Lycopersicon esculentum. Physiologia Plantarum 65, 487–492,CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Smith, O.E., Welch, N.C. and McCoy, O.D. (1973) Studies on lettuce seed quality. II. Relationship of seed vigor to emergence, seedling weight, and yield. Journal of the American Society of Horticultural Science 98, 552–556.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Walker, J.M. (1969) One degree increments in soil temperatures affect maize seedling behavior. Proceedings of the Soil Science Society of America 33, 729–736.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wang, J.Y. (1967) Agricultural meteorology. Wisconsin, USA, Pacemakers Press, 108 pp.Google Scholar
Wanjura, D.F. and Buxton, D.R. (1977) A systematic method for studying seedling emergence. Journal of the American Society of Sugar Beet Technologists 19, 207–218.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wanjura, D.F., Buxton, D.R. and Stapleton, H.N. (1970) A temperature model for predicting initial cotton emergence. Agronomy Journal 62, 741–743.CrossRefGoogle Scholar