Maternal Environment Modulates Dormancy and Germination in Vaccaria hispanica

Abstract

Offspring performance is affected by mother plants via genes and maternal environment. Seed characteristics such and dormancy and vigour are affected by the environmental resources during plant development. Intra and inter-variation in seed dormancy and longevity are considered as a bet-hedging strategy to reduce the recruitment failure across years under environmental uncertainty. In this study, the effects of drought and herbivory, two common environmental stresses, were investigated on biomass and seed quality in Vaccaria hispanica (Mill.) Rauschert, an annual forb. Plants were subjected to different levels of water and simulated herbivory stress. Maternal water stress suppressed seed mass, but it stimulated dormancy in seeds. Progenies from the maternal stress environment were more persistent than those from the maternal control environment after being exposed to 45°C and 100% RH for 8 days. The findings highlighted the importance of the water maternal effect versus herbivory on seed dormancy and longevity in this species. The results may help us understanding the life cycle and population dynamics of V. hispanica in successive years.

Concurrent evolution of seed dormancy and herbicide resistance in field populations of dominant weed species in Western Australian cropping systems

“…Intensive cropping in semiarid (nonirrigated) arable land often leads to faster uptake of soil moisture by successive, early-maturing crops compared with natural grassland situations (Liu et al 2015;Niu et al 2015), creating a relative drought condition for weed seed production. This situation may lead to increased seed dormancy or reduced seed germination, as reported by Cici (2017) in cowcockle [Vaccaria hispanica (Mill.) Rauschert].…”

Weed Seed Dormancy: The Ecophysiology and Survival Strategies

“…The effects of drought and herbivory on biomass and seed quality in Vaccaria hispanica (Mill.) Rauschert have been also studied by Cici [48]. The maternal water stress suppressed seed mass but stimulated seed dormancy in seeds.…”