Effect of seed vigour on garden pea production

Abstract

Vigour test results, expressed as expected field emergence (EFE) , gave better predictions of field emergence than the standard laboratory germination test for 5 lines of garden peas, cv, 'small sieve freezer', sown in 3 adjacent replicated plot trials in Manawatu. Differences in seed vigour between lines when sown in equal numbers were reflected in reduced emergence from low vigour lines, resulting in lower plant populations and a significant yield loss of green and seed peas. No difference was found in the vigour of seedlings which did establish. When sowings were made at rates which compensated for low vigour, so that equal plant populations were established, no yield differences were recorded. There was no significant relationship between the vigour of parent and progeny seed, as recorded by laboratory germination, electroconductivity, and hollow heart tests. Significant block effects for hollow heart of harvested seed were found in all 3 trials, for electroconductivity in 2 trials, irrespective of the vigour of the parent lines. The reasons for this require further investigation.

Influence of seed quality characters on field emergence of garden peas (Pisum sativumL.) under various sowing conditions

“…The condition can delay germination and reduce seedling growth. In New Zealand, the condition is considered important enough to be used as an assessment of pea seed vigour (Hampton & Scott 1982). However, hollow heart is not widely used in the prediction of field emergence in other countries.…”

“…In New Zealand, results from the germination test, conductivity test, and hollow heart assessment have been combined to predict field emergence (Scott & Close 1976;Hampton & Scott 1982). These results are expressed as the expected field emergence (EFE) (Scott & Close 1976), which has proved a valuable multiple testing approach (Hampton & Coolbear 1990), providing a more accurate guide to predicting field emergence than any of the individual parameters (Scott & Close 1976).…”

“…Pea populations should be optimal to maximise yield (Gane 1985); in New Zealand, garden peas are usually sown at 250-300 kg/ha, which with average seed weight and germination, produces populations of c. 80-100 plants/m 2 (Hampton & Scott 1982). Under dryland Canterbury conditions, populations <80 plants/m 2 produce significantly lower yield (Stoker 1975).…”

Development of Seed Physiological Quality in Winter Oilseed Rape (Brassica napus L.) Cultivars

“…1) can be attributed to variation in genetic constitution, which may strongly influence seed vigour (Perry, 1980;GhassemiGolezani et al, 2010). Field performance of high vigor seeds are much better than that of low vigor seeds, ensuring rapid, uniform and satisfactory stand establishment under a wide range of environmental conditions (Hampton and Scott, 1982;Ghassemi-Golezani et al, 1996a, b;2008b).…”

“…The end of seed filling phase described as physiological maturity (Harington, 1972) or mass maturity (Ellis and Pieta Filho, 1992). Low quality of seeds can potentially decrease the rate and percentage of germination and seedling emergence, leading to poor stand establishment in the field and consequently yield loss in many crops such as corn (Cruz-Garcia et al, 1995;Moreno-Martinez et al, 1998), wheat (Ganguli and Sen-Mandi, 1990), cotton (Iqbal et al, 2002), barley (Copeland and Mc Donald, 2001;Samarah and Al-Kofahi, 2008) garden pea (Hampton and Scott, 1982). Therefore, it is necessary to examine and identify suitable techniques for production of high quality seeds from different crops.…”