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Accepted manuscript

Effect of environmental factors on the germination of khasi nightshade (Solanum khasianum)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 February 2026

Yufang Xu
Affiliation:
Doctor, Qingdao Agricultural University, College of Grassland Science, Qingdao, Shandong, China
Fanru Xu
Affiliation:
Graduate Student, Qingdao Agricultural University, College of Grassland Science, Qingdao, Shandong, China
Yue Gao
Affiliation:
Undergraduate Student, Qingdao Agricultural University, College of Grassland Science, Qingdao, Shandong, China
Zimu Ma
Affiliation:
Undergraduate Student, Qingdao Agricultural University, College of Grassland Science, Qingdao, Shandong, China
Meiyan Zhang
Affiliation:
Researcher, Yunnan Academy of Grassland and Animal Science of China, Kunming, Yunnan, China
Yun Liu
Affiliation:
Master, Yunnan Academy of Grassland and Animal Science of China, Kunming, Yunnan, China
Juan Sun*
Affiliation:
Professor, Qingdao Agricultural University, College of Grassland Science, Qingdao, Shandong, China
*
Author for correspondence: Juan Sun, Professor, Qingdao Agricultural University, College of Grassland Science, No. 700 of Changcheng Road, Qingdao, Shandong, 266109. E-mail: sunjuan@qau.edu.cn
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Abstract

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Khasi nightshade (Solanum khasianum C.B. Clarke) is a perennial poisonous weed in tropical and subtropical regions that seriously threatens the development of grasslands. For a high-risk invasive weed, a comprehensive understanding of its seed germination characteristics is important for predicting its spread and developing effective management strategies. However, the impact of various abiotic factors on the germination of S. khasianum is not clear. The study first explored the effect of temperature, light, pH, osmotic stress, salt stress, high-temperature pretreatment and burial depth on the germination of S. khasianum. Seeds germinated at constant temperature of 30, 33, 35, and 38 C, and the germination rate (GR) ranged from 10% to 94%. The optimum germination temperature was 35 C, while germination was completely inhibited at 25 C or 40 C. The germination of S. khasianum was greatly promoted by alternating light and darkness (16/8, 12/12, 8/16 h), but was not sensitive to the time change of photoperiod. The GRs were more than 70% in the pH range of 4 to 10, and strongly acidic environment was more suitable for the germination. The GR gradually decreased with the osmotic potential from 0 to -0.2 MPa, and no germination occurred at -0.4 MPa. Accordingly, germination was also low in sodium chloride (NaCl) solution with concentration higher than 60 mM. Seeds of S. khasianum were not tolerant to high temperature, GR decreased significantly after exposure to 40 C for five minutes, and it decreased to 3% at 120 C. The emergence rate was the highest (93%) when the seeds were buried on the soil surface, while seedlings hardly appeared when the burial depth was more than 2 cm. This study revealed the possible adaptive mechanism of invasive S. khasianum, and will contribute to the effective prediction and management in grasslands.

Information

Type
Research Article
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2026. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Weed Science Society of America

Footnotes

*

These authors contributed equally to this work.