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Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria) Seed Germination

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

James A. Young  and
Charlie D. Clements
James A. Young*
Affiliation:
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, 920 Valley Road., Reno, NV 89512
Charlie D. Clements
Affiliation:
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, 920 Valley Road., Reno, NV 89512
*
Corresponding author's E-mail: jayoung@scs.unr.edu.
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Abstract

Purple loosestrife is an invasive, exotic perennial weed of wetlands throughout much of the United States and Canada. Once established, it forms dense colonies to the near exclusion of more desirable vegetation. Established plants are prolific seed producers. Our purpose was to investigate the germination of purple loosestrife seeds at a wide range of constant or alternating temperatures from 0 through 40 C. Purple loosestrife seeds germinate over a wide range of temperatures. We define optimum germination as not less than the maximum observed minus its confidence interval at the 0.01 level of probability. Optimum germination occurred over a considerable range of temperatures: Only 10, 15, or 20 C for 16 h alternating in each 24 h with 35 C for 8 h always supported optimum germination. Wide ranges in diurnal temperature fluctuations were conducive to maximum germination. These ranged from a maximum of 35 degrees with 0/35 C to 5 degrees with 30/35 C. No one constant temperature supported optimum germination.

Keywords

Purple loosestrifeLythrum salicaria L #3 LYTSAWetlandsseed and seedbed ecologydiurnal temperatures
Type
Research
Information
Weed Technology , Volume 15 , Issue 2 , June 2001 , pp. 337 - 342
Copyright
Copyright © Weed Science Society of America 

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References

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