Oecologia (1996) 108, 419-423

Alois Honek and Zdenka Martinková (1996)
Geographic variation in seed dormancy among populations of Echinochloa crus-galli
Oecologia 108 (3), 419-423
Abstract: In 1991-1993, we investigated the incidence of seed dormancy in 25 local populations of barnyard grass, Echinochloa crus-galli (L.) P.Beauv., in the western Czech Republic. The percentage of germination after 4 months afterripening of dry seeds at 25°C varied between 0.0 and 83.6%. Although there were significant annual differences in the percentage of germination at some localities, typical proportions of dormant seeds persisted over 3 years at field sites where the seed bank was not disturbed. One-way ANOVA (using data from 14 cultivated or abandoned fields) revealed that 73.0% of variance in seed dormancy incidence could be attributed to the effect of locality (P<0.001). Incidence of dormancy was not correlated with mother plant stature (dry above-ground biomass, number of tillers, maximal stem height) nor seed mass. There was a significant correlation (r ²=0.403, P<0.005) between dormancy incidence at natural localities in 1991 and in F₁ offspring sown at experimental grounds at Praha-Ruzyne in 1992. The results indicate that heredity is important in maintaining local variation in seed dormancy, probably favoured by the self-pollinating reproduction of barnyard grass.
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Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Alois Honek, Zdenka Martinkova

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Echinochloa crus-galli (weed)		Czech Republic