Seed germination and seedling vigour of italian ryegrass, cocksfoot and timothy following harvest and storage

Abstract

During post-harvest maturation, different species vary in the length of dormancy breaking or germination increases. Seed dormancy and slow seedling development often limit establishment of forage grass stands. Seed germination and seedling vigour of Italian ryegrass (Lolium italicum A. Braun, Synonym Lolium multiflorum L.), cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata L.) and timothy (Phleum pretense L.) were observed after harvest and storage. After harvest in June, seeds were stored under standard storage conditions and sampled every 30 days after harvest (DAH), up to 270 DAH, and then every 60 days up to 990 DAH. At each date, seeds were tested for final germination percentage and for seedling vigour traits. Timothy seeds had a maximum germination (88%) and the best seedlings vigour at 90 DAH, which implies that early autumn (September-October) is the best sowing period for freshly harvested seeds of timothy. Timothy seed germination was poor from 270 DAH (73%). The best germination and vigour of Italian ryegrass and cocksfoot seedlings were between 270 and 330 DAH, which equates to spring sowing time (March-April) in the succeeding year. Cocksfoot and Italian ryegrass seeds maintained satisfactory germination levels up to 630 DAH (81%) and 810 DAH (81%), respectively. The data can serve for the determination of a proper storage duration management between harvest and sowing of the tested species under ambient conditions of south-eastern Europe.Index terms: Forage grasses, post-harvest maturation, seed dormancy. RESUMODurante o armazenamento, diferentes espécies comportam-se diferentemente quanto à dormência e crescimento de plântulas. A dormência o desenvolvimento lento das plântulas limitam a época do plantio das gramíneas forrageiras plurianuais. A germinação de sementes e o crescimento das plântulas de azevem italiano (Lolium italicum A. Braun sin. Lolium multiflorum L.), Dactilis (Dactilis glomerata L.) e de timoteo (Phleum pratense L.) foi pesquisada durante a maturação pós-colheita e a silagem. Após a colheita, em junho, sementes foram armazenadas em condições tradicionais e analisadas a cada 30 dias após a colheita, até 270 dias e, em seguida, a cada 60 dias até 990 dias. Nessa pesquisa, avaliou-se a germinação final e o vigor das plântulas. As sementes de timoteo obtiveram germinação máxima (88%) e o melhor crescimento das plântulas após 90 dias de armazenamento, indicando que o melhor período para o plantio das sementes colhidas em junho é o inicio de outono (setembro-outubro). A germinação de sementes de timoteo reduziu nos 270 dias (73%) seguintes. A melhor germinação, e crescimento da plântula do azevem italiano e do dactilis ocorreu entre 270 e 330 dias, indicando que a melhor época para plantio é na primavera (março-abril), do ano seguinte. As sementes de dactilis e azevem italiano mantiveram germinação satisfatória até 630 dias (81%) e 810 dias (81%), respectivamente. Essa pesquisa pode servir para determinação de gerenciamento adequado de duração de armazenamento entre a colheita e o plantio das esp...

Drying of meadow fescue seeds of different moisture contents: Changes in dormancy and germination

“…Dormancy causing reduced germination immediately after harvest was also present in seeds of other fodder grasses conventionally dried. For instance, 31% of dormant seeds present in Arrhenatherum elatius resulted in germination of 57% (Stanisavljević et al 2010b), while seed germination in Lolium multiflorum, Dactylis glomerata and Phleum pretense amounted to 58, 52 and 62%, respectively (Stanisavljević et al 2011). Very low seed germination (about 50%) was recorded in Brachiaria brizantha (Dias and Toledo 1993), but the dormancy in these seeds if exposed to the temperature of 70°C for 10 and 15 min would be reduced and germination would be increased without adverse effects on physiological quality of seeds (Martins and Silva 2001).…”

Acid and Temperature Treatments Result in Increased Germination of Seeds of Three Fescue Species

“…On the other hand, current seed trading regulations in the Southeastern European countries require a germination rate that exceeds 70%. Currently the germination rate of tall oatgrass (Arrhenatherum elatius) is 63% (Stanisavljević et al, 2010a), that of Italian ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum) is 66%, that of cocksfoot (Dactylis glomerata) is 57% (Stanisavljević et al, 2011), and that of meadow fescue (F. pratensis) is approximately 63% (Stanisavljević et al, 2010b). These germination rates prevent commercial sale of the seed in southeastern Europe.…”

“…According to the conclusions of Stanisavljević et al (2010aStanisavljević et al ( , 2010bStanisavljević et al ( , 2011 and Rozman et al (2010), increased rates of germination of seeds of perennial forage grasses is accompanied by increased seedling vigour. A high rate of seed germination this creates conditions for successful establishment of grass species when competing with weeds and other species found in mixtures of seeds.…”

Sowing depth of annual ryegrass seed on different substrates as a vigor test

“…Annual ryegrass can be considered the most important winter-season forage for livestock in Southern Brazil, by supplying continuous fodder of high nutritive value during the food shortage period (Flores et al, 2008). However, annual ryegrass seeds are small and have dormancy (Stanisavljević et al, 2011), as reported for other forage seeds. Consequently, they are generally difficult to germinate under adverse field conditions (Stanisavljević et al, 2011), and then, can lead to the formation of pastures with undesirable plant stands for soil cover and forage utilization.…”