Sowing

About: Sowing is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 33888 publications have been published within this topic receiving 273438 citations. The topic is also known as: seeding.

Seed Coatings and Treatments and Their Effects on Plant Establishment

Abstract: Publisher Summary This chapter elaborates seed coatings and treatments, and their effects on plant establishment. Seed coating is a mechanism of applying needed materials in such a way that they affect the seed or soil at the seed–soil interface. Seed coating provides an opportunity to package effective quantities of materials such that they can influence the microenvironment of each seed. The treatment of seeds with fungicides and/or insecticides is a relatively common practice compared to other coatings. The most commonly applied seed coatings are those in which a trace quantity of fungicide and/or insecticide is applied to seeds in such a way that this small quantity is evenly distributed among the seeds. The process of seed coating usually involves the use of adhesives to bind materials to the surface of seeds. It is found that the degree of attraction or repulsion of moisture by the seed coating can have large effects on the germination of coated seeds. The mechanical planting of seeds is facilitated by having seeds that are of uniform size and shape, have sufficient size and weight to be easily separated mechanically, and flow readily without clumping together. The incorporation of nutrients in seed coatings provides a unique opportunity to supply each sown seedling with an accurately controlled quantity of nutrient that may be preferentially available to the sown species and less available to any neighboring weed species.

Growth and Yield Response of Facultative Wheat to Winter Sowing, Freezing Sowing and Spring Sowing at Different Seeding Rates

Abstract: Growth and yield of wheat are affected by environmental conditions and can be regulated by sowing time and seeding rate. In this study, three sowing times [winter sowing (first week of September), freezing sowing (last week of October) and spring sowing (last week of April)] at seven seeding rates (325, 375, 425, 475, 525, 575 and 625 seeds m -2 ) were investigated during the 2002-03 and 2003-04 seasons, in Erzurum (Turkey) dryland conditions, using Kirik facultative wheat. A split-plot design was used, with sowing times as main plots and seeding rates randomized as subplots. There was a significant year x sowing time interaction for grain yield and kernels per spike. Winter-sown wheat produced a significantly higher leaf area index, leaf area duration, spikes per square metre, kernel weight and grain yield than freezing- and spring-sown wheat. The optimum time of sowing was winter for the facultative cv. Kirik. Grain yields at freezing and spring sowing were low, which was largely the result of hastened crop development and high temperatures during and after anthesis. Increasing seeding rate up to 525 seeds m -2 increased the spikes per square metre at harvest, resulting in increased grain yield. Seeding rate, however, was not as important as sowing time in maximizing grain yield. Changes in spikes per square metre were the major contributors to the grain-yield differences observed among sowing times and seeding rates. Yield increases from higher seeding rates were greater at freezing and spring sowing. We recommended that a seeding rate of 525 seeds m -2 be chosen for winter sowing, and 575 seeds m -2 for freezing and spring sowing.

Innovative Techniques for Large-scale Seagrass Restoration Using Zostera marina (eelgrass) Seeds

Abstract: The use of Zostera marina (eelgrass) seeds for seagrass restoration is increasingly recognized as an alternative to transplanting shoots as losses of seagrass habitat generate interest in large-scale restoration. We explored new techniques for efficient large-scale restoration of Z. marina using seeds by addressing the factors limiting seed collection, processing, survival, and distribution. We tested an existing mechanical harvesting system for expanding the scale of seed collections, and developed and evaluated two new experimental systems. A seeding technique using buoys holding reproductive shoots at restoration sites to eliminate seed storage was tested along with new techniques for reducing seed-processing labor. A series of experiments evaluated storage conditions that maintain viability of seeds during summer storage for fall planting. Finally, a new mechanical seed-planting technique appropriate for large scales was developed and tested. Mechanical harvesting was an effective approach for collecting seeds, and impacts on donor beds were low. Deploying seed-bearing shoots in buoys produced fewer seedlings and required more effort than isolating, storing, and hand-broadcasting seeds in the fall. We show that viable seeds can be separated from grass wrack based on seed fall velocity and that seed survival during storage can be high (92–95% survival over 3 months). Mechanical seed-planting did not enhance seedling establishment at our sites, but may be a useful tool for evaluating restoration sites. Our work demonstrates the potential for expanding the scale of seed-based Z. marina restoration but the limiting factor remains the low rate of initial seedling establishment from broadcast seeds.