Advances in Basic and Applied Research on Weed Seed Dormancy, Germination, and Early Growth

A special issue of Agriculture (ISSN 2077-0472). This special issue belongs to the section "Crop Protection, Diseases, Pests and Weeds".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 February 2024) | Viewed by 4408

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
CNR, Institute for Sustainable Plant Protection IPSP, National Research Council of Italy, Viale dell'Università 16, Padua, Italy
Interests: integrated weed management; seed germination; weed emergence; herbicide resistance; mechanical weed control; sustainable agriculture; organic farming
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Guest Editor
Department of Agronomy, Food, Natural Resources, Animals and Environment—DAFNAE, University of Padua, 35020 Legnaro, Italy
Interests: precision weed control; invasive weed species; seed germination; weed emergence; innovative solutions for weed control
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In a constantly changing world and with the continuous population increase, maintaining food security becomes more important. Considering the negative impact of weeds on plant production, improving weed control remains one of the pillars of sustainable agriculture. In order to achieve a satisfying level of weed control, it is paramount to have a solid knowledge of weed biology, especially about their initial life phases that are crucial for the establishment of the weed flora and its competitiveness with crops. It is therefore important to conduct in-depth studies on dormancy, germination, and emergence processes of weed species, especially addressing the great variability observed both at the interspecific and intraspecific levels.

Similarly, assessing how different management tactics could influence the breaking of dormancy, germination, and emergence of weed seeds is crucial, especially considering the innovations that are lately gaining momentum in agriculture.

We are pleased to invite you to contribute to this Special Issue with original research articles or reviews that advance the knowledge on weed dormancy, germination, and emergence, as well as test the effect of different techniques on these crucial phases of the weed lifecycle. Such techniques could include but are not limited to allelopathy, different soil management, mulching, cover crops or different techniques of precision weed control.

We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Dr. Donato Loddo
Dr. Nebojša Nikolić
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • weeds
  • dormancy
  • germination
  • emergence
  • allelopathy
  • cover crops
  • mulching
  • precision weed control

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 1729 KiB  
Article
Seed Dormancy Dynamics and Germination Characteristics of Malva parviflora L.
by Rakesh Dawar, Vishwanath Rohidas Yalamalle, Ram Swaroop Bana, Ramanjit Kaur, Yashbir Singh Shivay, Anil K. Choudhary, Teekam Singh, Samrath Lal Meena, Dunna Vijay, H. P. Vijayakumar, Vipin Kumar and Achchhelal Yadav
Agriculture 2024, 14(2), 266; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture14020266 - 07 Feb 2024
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Abstract
Little mallow (Malva parviflora L.) is a notorious weed that causes substantial yield losses in winter crops. For effective weed management and seed testing, a deeper understanding of seed dormancy, germination behavior, and dormancy-breaking methods is necessary. Experiments were conducted to determine [...] Read more.
Little mallow (Malva parviflora L.) is a notorious weed that causes substantial yield losses in winter crops. For effective weed management and seed testing, a deeper understanding of seed dormancy, germination behavior, and dormancy-breaking methods is necessary. Experiments were conducted to determine the effect of seed treatments, i.e., mechanical scarification, acid scarification, hot water treatment, and different germinating temperatures, i.e., 15 °C, 20 °C, or alternating 15–20 °C (16/8 h), on the seed dormancy in M.parviflora. A large proportion of M. parviflora seeds were physically dormant, with just 10.90% germination. Seed treatments had a significant influence on seed germination, seedling dry weight, vigor index, and water absorption (p ≤ 0.01). Among the various treatments, mechanical scarification enhanced germination by 32%, the vigor index by 487% and water uptake by 34%, and decreased percent hard seeds by 34%. Among the various germination temperatures, alternating 15–20 °C temperatures (16/8 h) gave the most significant result for germination and the lowest percent hard seeds. The findings of this study will serve as a valuable reference for seed testing and the development of suitable weed control strategies for M. parviflora. Full article
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11 pages, 1165 KiB  
Article
Developing a Localized Emergence Model of Echinochloa crus-galli to Predict Early Post-Herbicide Effectiveness in Maize
by Theresa Reinhardt Piskáčková and Miroslav Jursík
Agriculture 2023, 13(11), 2072; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13112072 - 28 Oct 2023
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Abstract
In order to achieve integrated weed management, precision timing is just as important an aspect to consider as spatial precision: the stage of the plant at the time of action will impact its successful control or survivability and thus the selection pressure for [...] Read more.
In order to achieve integrated weed management, precision timing is just as important an aspect to consider as spatial precision: the stage of the plant at the time of action will impact its successful control or survivability and thus the selection pressure for herbicide resistance. Weed emergence models are one aspect of this precision timing, but they are yet underutilized. One critique has been that models based on bare ground emergence are not always validated with emergence in the crop, and yet also residual herbicides and their timing may also affect the model. In this work, we compare emergence of Echinochloa crus-galli on bare ground and in maize and the impact of early post-residual herbicides at several timings. Experiments on bare ground and in maize were set in Prague, Czech Republic, in 2021, 2022, and 2023. Bare-ground quadrats of 0.25 m2 were randomly assigned in a space of 100 m2. Maize plot treatments of four herbicides at each of five timings were assigned in a randomized complete block design (dimethenamid-P at 1008 g ai ha−1, pethoxamid at 1200 g ai ha−1, isoxaflutole at 96 g ai ha−1, and mesotrione at 480 g ai ha−1). Three 0.25 m2 quadrats were enumerated in each plot from first emergence to full canopy closure (May to July). Model fit to emergence from the bare-ground plots using thermal time with a base temperature of 10 °C resulted in an AIC of −494. The bare-ground model was validated with emergence from the nontreated control plots in maize in 2022 and 2023, which accounted for over 85% of the variability in observed emergence. At canopy closure, total emergence since herbicide application was affected by herbicide and application timing. All herbicides at all timings reduced the emergence after application except for mesotrione. When beginning thermal time from the day of application, the emergence pattern after mesotrione application at all timings could be modeled with a single equation. E. crus-galli had a reliable emergence pattern within a local population; the predictive model created using bare-ground plots adequately predicted emergence in maize. This information can be used to time herbicides to coincide with the most effective moment in the flush in areas where E. crus-galli is the driver weed species. Full article
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13 pages, 1819 KiB  
Article
Germination Ecology of African Lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) and Herbicide Options for Its Control
by Oyebanji O. Alagbo and Bhagirath Singh Chauhan
Agriculture 2023, 13(5), 920; https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture13050920 - 22 Apr 2023
Viewed by 1588
Abstract
African lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) is one of the invasive perennial grasses that continues to disturb natural ecosystems globally. Experiments were conducted in southeast Queensland, Australia, to evaluate the effects of temperature, salt stress, water stress, burial depth, and sorghum crop residue [...] Read more.
African lovegrass (Eragrostis curvula) is one of the invasive perennial grasses that continues to disturb natural ecosystems globally. Experiments were conducted in southeast Queensland, Australia, to evaluate the effects of temperature, salt stress, water stress, burial depth, and sorghum crop residue load on the emergence and efficacy of postemergence herbicides on two populations (Clifton and Crows Nest) of E. curvula. The optimal germination temperature regimes for E. curvula were 30/20 and 35/25 °C, but seeds did not germinate at temperatures commonly occurring in the Queensland winter (15/5 °C). Total darkness inhibited germination by 79%, indicating that the shade cover effect would reduce germination of E. curvula. The Clifton population tolerated a higher concentration of sodium chloride (160 mM) and osmotic potential (−0.8 MPa). Under both salt and water stress, germination was 31% and 20% greater in the Clifton population than in Crows Nest, respectively, suggesting that the Clifton population is more tolerant to salt and drought stress. The maximum germination was obtained for the surface seeds while emergence declined with increased burial depth up to 4 cm. No seedlings emerged from the 8 cm depth. The addition of sorghum residue amounts up to 8 Mg ha−1 to the soil surface inhibited emergence compared to the no-residue treatment, suggesting that retention of heavy cereal residue will further delay or restrict emergence. Several postemergence herbicides were found to be effective in controlling E. curvula at an early stage. Information from this study will further compliment earlier studies on the targeted management of E. curvula populations. Full article
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