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Predation on weed seeds and seedlings by Pheretima guillelmi and its potential for weed biocontrol

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 August 2020

Tao Li Open the ORCID record for Tao Li [Opens in a new window] ,
Jiequn Fan ,
Zhenguan Qian ,
Guohui Yuan ,
Dandan Meng ,
Shuiliang Guo Open the ORCID record for Shuiliang Guo [Opens in a new window]  and
Weiguang Lv Open the ORCID record for Weiguang Lv [Opens in a new window]
Tao Li
Affiliation:
Associate Professor, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai, China
Jiequn Fan
Affiliation:
Associate Professor, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai, China
Zhenguan Qian
Affiliation:
Associate Professor, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai, China
Guohui Yuan
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai, China
Dandan Meng
Affiliation:
Graduate Student, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China
Shuiliang Guo*
Affiliation:
Professor, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China
Weiguang Lv*
Affiliation:
Professor, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Shanghai, China
*
Authors for correspondence: Shuiliang Guo, Shanghai Normal University, Guilin Road, no. 100, Shanghai, 200234, China. (Email: gsg@shnu.edu.cn); and Weiguang Lv, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 1000 Jinqi Road, Fengxian District, Shanghai, 201403, China. (Email: lwei1217@sina.com).
Authors for correspondence: Shuiliang Guo, Shanghai Normal University, Guilin Road, no. 100, Shanghai, 200234, China. (Email: gsg@shnu.edu.cn); and Weiguang Lv, Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, 1000 Jinqi Road, Fengxian District, Shanghai, 201403, China. (Email: lwei1217@sina.com).
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Abstract

The soil weed seedbank is the source of future weed infestations. Seed predation can result in a large number of seed losses, thus contributing to weed biocontrol. Earthworms are important predators of seeds and seedlings and affect seeds and seedling survival after gut passage. A study was conducted to assess the ability of Pheretima guillelmi (Kinberg) to ingest and digest the seeds and seedlings of 15 main farmland weed species. Pheretima guillelmi ingested the seeds and seedlings of each weed species tested. The percentages of seeds and seedlings ingested were 96.7% to 100% and 21.7% to 94.2%, respectively. Pheretima guillelmi showed greater ingestion of seeds than seedlings for each species and digested the seeds and seedlings of each weed species tested to varying extents. The percentages of seeds and seedlings digested were less than 15% irrespective of the weed species. Passage through the gut of P. guillelmi affected the survival of seeds and seedlings. The germination of large crabgrass [Digitaria sanguinalis (L.) Scop.], green foxtail [Setaria viridis (L.) P. Beauv.], goosegrass [Eleusine indica (L.) Gaertn.], Chinese sprangletop [Leptochloa chinensis (L.) Nees], Malabar sprangletop [Leptochloa fusca (L.) Kunth], redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.), common purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.), barnyardgrass [Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv.], and ricefield flatsedge (Cyperus iria L.) seeds egested by P. guillelmi decreased by 46%, 49%, 47%, 25%, 38%, 26%, 32%, 13%, and 15%, respectively, compared with their respective controls. In contrast to seed ingestion, ingestion of seedlings by P. guillelmi was fatal to individuals of all weed species; no seedlings survived passage through the gut. Our results indicate that predation of weed seeds and seedlings by P. guillelmi probably depletes the soil weed seedbank and that the introduction of P. guillelmi into fields is a potential strategy for weed biocontrol in farmland.

Keywords

Earthwormsseed and seedling predatorssoil seedbankweed management
Type
Research Article
Information
Weed Science , Volume 68 , Issue 6 , November 2020 , pp. 639 - 645
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Weed Science Society of America

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Footnotes

*

These authors contributed equally to this work.

Associate Editor: Steven S. Seefeldt, Washington State University

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