Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-gtxcr Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-16T23:00:21.466Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Effects of Seed Size and Weight on Witchweed (Striga asiatica) Seed Germination, Emergence, and Host-Parasitization

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2017

Faiz F. Bebawi ,
Robert E. Eplee  and
Rebecca S. Norris
Faiz F. Bebawi
Affiliation:
Faculty of Agriculture, Shambat, Sudan
Robert E. Eplee
Affiliation:
USDA, APHIS, PPQ, Whiteville Methods Development Center, P. O. Box 279, Whiteville, NC 28472
Rebecca S. Norris
Affiliation:
USDA, APHIS, PPQ, Whiteville Methods Development Center, P. O. Box 279, Whiteville, NC 28472
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Seed size and weight significantly affected witchweed [Striga asiatica (L.) Kuntze = S. lutea Lour. ♯4 STRLU] seed germination, witchweed emergence, and host-parasitization. Witchweed seed were divided into four groups for testing; large (> 149 microns in diameter) and heavy (specific gravity greater than one) (LH), large and light (specific gravity less than one) (LL), small (< 125 microns in diameter) and heavy (SH), and small and light (SL). Germination percentages were 87, 84, 58, and 26 for LH, LL, SH, and SL, respectively. Corn (Zea mays L.) was planted in pots containing soil infested with these four seed categories. The total number of witchweed plants (submerged plus emerged) per pot containing LH, LL, SH, and SL witchweed seed was 65, 12, 0, and 0, respectively, and the number of witchweed plants that emerged was 19, 4, 0, and 0 per pot. There were no significant differences in shoot weights of corn grown in the pots either between kinds of witchweed seed infesting the soil or between plants grown in infested soil and plants grown in soil that did not contain witchweed seed. Roots of corn plants grown in soil infested with LH seed were significantly heavier than those grown in soil infested with any other seed class and heavier than those from soil that did not contain witchweed seed. No other seed class significantly affected root weight.

Keywords

Population dynamicsparasitic seedsweed biologySTRLU
Type
Weed Biology and Ecology
Information
Weed Science , Volume 32 , Issue 2 , March 1984 , pp. 202 - 205
Copyright
Copyright © 1984 by the Weed Science Society of America 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Literature Cited

1. Abdullahi, A. and Vanderlip, R. L. 1972. Relationships of vigor tests and seed source and size to sorghum seedlings establishment. Agron. J. 64:143–144.Google Scholar
2. Black, J. N. 1959. Seed size in herbage legumes. Herb. Abstr. 29:235–241.Google Scholar
3. Egley, G. H. 1971. Mineral nutrition and the parasite-host relationship of witchweed. Weed Sci. 19:528–533.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4. Haferkamp, M. E., Smith, Luther, and Nilan, R. A. 1953. Studies on aged seeds. 1. Relation of age of seed to germination and longevity. Agron. J. 45:434–437.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
5. Hsiao, A. I. 1979. Factors affecting conditioning and germination of witchweed [Striga asiatica (L.) Kuntze.] seeds under laboratory conditions. Pages 193–201 in Proceedings of the 2nd Symposium on Parasitic Weeds. Musselman, L. J., Worsham, A. D., and Eplee, R. E., eds. N. Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC.Google Scholar
6. Johnson, A. W., Rosebery, G., and Parker, C. 1976. A novel approach to Striga and Orobanche control using synthetic germination stimulants. Weed Res. 16:23–227.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
7. Kust, C. A. 1963. Dormancy and viability of witchweed seeds as affected by temperature and relative humidity during storage. Weeds 11:247–250.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
8. Lakshmi, B. and Jayachandra, . 1979. Physiological variations in Striga asiatica . Pages 132–143 in Proceedings of the 2nd Symposium of Parasitic Weeds. Musselman, L. J., Worsham, A. D., and Eplee, R. E., eds. N. Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC.Google Scholar
9. Malone, C. R. 1967. A rapid method for enumeration of viable seeds in soil. Weeds 15:381–382.Google Scholar
10. Musselman, L. J. 1980. The biology of striga, orobanche, and other root-parasitic weeds. Annu. Rev. Phytopathol. 18:463–489.Google Scholar
11. Pavlista, A. D., Worsham, A. D., and Moreland, D. E. 1979. Witchweed seed germination. 1. Effects of chemical and physical treatments. Pages 219–227 in Proceedings of the 2nd Symposium of Parasitic Weeds. Musselman, L. J., Worsham, A. D., and Eplee, R. E., eds. N. Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC.Google Scholar
12. Penzhorn, K. E. W. 1954. Highveld Region Report. Farming S. Afr. 29:112.Google Scholar
13. Reid, D. C. and Parker, C. 1979. Germination requirements of Striga species. Pages 202–210 of the Proceedings of the 2nd Symposium of Parasitic Weeds. Musselman, L. J., Worsham, A. D., and Eplee, R. E., eds. N. Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC.Google Scholar
14. Saunders, A. R. 1933. Studies in phanerogamic parasitism, with particular reference to Striga lutea Lour. S. Afr. Dep. Agric. Tech. Serv. Bull. 128:56.Google Scholar
15. Stevens, O. A. 1935. Germination studies on aged and injured seeds. J. Agric. Res. (Washington, DC) 51:1093–1106.Google Scholar
16. Swanson, A. F. and Hunter, R. 1936. Effect of germination and seed size on sorghum stands. J. Am. Soc. Agron. 28:997–1004.Google Scholar