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Seed Dormancy and Seedling Emergence in Ripgut Brome (Bromus diandrus) Populations in SouthernAustralia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Samuel George Lloyd Kleemann  and
Gurjeet Singh Gill
Samuel George Lloyd Kleemann*
Affiliation:
School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Waite Campus, South Australia, Australia 5064
Gurjeet Singh Gill
Affiliation:
School of Agriculture, Food and Wine, The University of Adelaide, Waite Campus, South Australia, Australia 5064
*
Corresponding author's E-mail: samuel.kleemann@adelaide.edu.au
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Abstract

Ripgut brome is a difficult weed to manage in cereal crops of southernAustralia because only a few herbicides can provide effective control incereals. Knowledge of seed-dormancy mechanisms, germination ecology, andemergence behavior in the field could facilitate development of effectiveweed control programs for this weed species. Ripgut brome populations fromcropping fields were found to possess much longer seed dormancy than thatreported previously in the literature. Furthermore, some ripgut bromepopulations from cropping fields showed longer seed dormancy than thosecollected from adjacent noncropped fence lines. For example, all seeds ofone of the populations from the fence line (SA-1F) germinated at 3 mo aftermaturity, whereas seeds from the cropping field at the same site (SA-1C)showed little germination (< 3%) even at 8 mo after maturity. Thesehighly dormant ripgut brome populations from cropping fields were responsiveto cold stratification, with germination increasing significantly after 2 to14 d of exposure. Germination of dormant ripgut brome populations increasedwith addition of gibberellic acid (0.001 M GA3), particularlywhen lemma and palea had been removed. Ripgut brome populations fromcropping fields (VIC-2C and SA-1C) showed strong inhibition of seedgermination when exposed to light. These differences in seed dormancy amongripgut brome populations were also expressed in seedling emergence patternin the field. The nondormant populations collected from fence lines showedhigh seedling establishment (> 80%) during autumn, which coincided withthe planting time of winter crops in southern Australia. In contrast, fivepopulations from cropping fields showed much lower seedling establishment (3to 17%) before the time of crop planting. Delayed seedling establishment inpopulations from cropping fields could lead to less effective preseedingweed control and higher weed infestations in field crops. Results of thisstudy also showed that the seedbank of these highly dormant ripgut bromepopulations can readily persist from one year to the next. Effectivemanagement of ripgut brome populations with long seed dormancy and increasedseedbank persistence would require a major change in cropping systems usedby the growers in southern Australia.

Keywords

Ripgut brome, Bromus diandrus RothCold stratificationgibberellic acidlightseedbank persistence

Information

Type
Weed Biology and Ecology
Information
Weed Science , Volume 61 , Issue 2 , June 2013 , pp. 222 - 229
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

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References

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