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Dormancy, Longevity, and Germination of Seed of Three Larkspurs and Western False Hellebore

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 June 2017

M. Coburn Williams
Affiliation:
Crops Research Division, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, Logan, Utah
Eugene H. Cronin
Affiliation:
Crops Research Division, Agricultural Research Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, in cooperation with the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station, Logan, Utah

Abstract

Dormancy, longevity, and germination of seed of tall larkspur (Delphinium barbeyi Huth), duncecap larkspur (Delphinium occidentale S. Wats.), low larkspur (Delphinium nelsonii Greene), and western false hellebore (Veratrum californicum Durand) were investigated. Field studies were conducted in the Cache National Forest in Idaho at 8,000 ft elevation. With the exception of 12 of 400 buried duncecap larkspur seed, seed of all species in the longevity study germinated or disintegrated the first year under field conditions. No sound or viable seed was found at the end of the second year. Dormancy of most seed was broken in 13 to 19 weeks when seed were held at 33 to 34 F in moist sand in the laboratory or when seed were in contact with moist unfrozen soil under snow. Under optimum field conditions, the majority of the seed germinated by late March. Seedlings were well-established before snow-melt in June.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

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References

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