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.

Germination and emergence of hairy beggarticks (Bidens pilosa).

Abstract: Effects of environmental factors on germination and emergence of hairy beggarticks were examined in laboratory and greenhouse studies. Optimum temperature range for germination of hairy beggarticks was 25/20 to 35/30 C (day/night, 12/12 h). Germination decreased above or below this range. Temperatures below 15/10 C and above 45/40 C were unfavorable for germination. Hairy beggarticks seed can germinate under both a 12-h photoperiod and a 24-h dark regime. Seed germinated 78 to 90% in buffer solutions of pH 4 to 9. Radicle growth was more sensitive to extreme pH than germination. Osmotic stress up to −0.1 MPa had little effect on germination, but less than 3% of the seed germinated at an osmotic stress of −0.75 MPa. Hairy beggarticks seed (13%) germinated at NaCl concentration of 100 mM but failed to germinate at 200 mM NaCl. Maximum emergence occurred when seed were planted less than 1 cm deep. No seedlings emerged when planted 10 cm deep. Flooding even for a day following planting decreased emergence to 25% compared to no flooding (56%). Seedling emergence decreased sharply with a further increase in duration of flooding, and no seedlings emerged when flooding was maintained up to 28 d after planting.

Nutritional, growth, and reproductive responses of maize (Zea mays L.) to arbuscular mycorrhizal inoculation during and after drought stress at tasselling

Abstract: The effects of root colonization by the arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungus Glomus intraradices Schenck & Smith on nutritional, growth, and reproductive attributes of two tropical maize cultivars with different sensitivities to drought were studied. Freshly regenerated seeds of selection cycles 0 (cv. C0, drought-sensitive) and 8 (cv. C8, drought-resistant) of the lowland tropical maize population "Tuxpeno sequia" were used in this greenhouse experiment. Maize plants were subjected to drought stress for 3 weeks following tasselling (75–95 days after sowing) and rewatered for the subsequent 5 weeks until harvest. Mycorrhizal (M+) plants had significantly higher uptake of N, P, K, Mg, Mn, and Zn into grain than non-mycorrhizal (M–) plants under drought conditions. AM inoculation also produced significantly greater shoot masses in C0 and C8 regardless of the drought-stress treatment. In the sensitive cultivar C0, drought stress reduced the shoot mass and grain yield by 23% and 55%, respectively, when roots were not colonized, while the reductions were only 12% and 31%, respectively, with mycorrhizal association. In addition, the emergence of tassels and silks was earlier in M+ plants than in M– plants under drought conditions. Mycorrhizal response was more pronounced under both well-watered and drought conditions in C0 than in the C8 cultivar. The overall results suggest that AM inoculation affects host plant nutritional status and growth and thereby alters the reproductive behaviour of maize under drought conditions.

Crop Density, Sowing Pattern, and Nitrogen Fertilization Effects on Weed Suppression and Yield In Spring Wheat

Abstract: Recent studies have shown major advantages of increased crop density and spatial uniformity for competition of wheat with weeds. Field experiments were performed over 3 yr to determine whether the effects of crop density and sowing pattern on weed suppression are influenced by nitrogen fertilization. The independent variables were crop sowing pattern (normal rows and a highly uniform pattern), seeding density (204, 449, and 721 seed m−2) and nitrogen fertilization (0 and 80 kg nitrogen ha−1) of spring wheat, grown under high weed pressure. Increased crop density had strong and consistent negative effects on weed biomass and positive effects on crop biomass and yield. At the highest crop density, weed biomass was less than half that at the lowest density. Weed biomass was generally lower, and yield higher, in the uniform pattern, except in one case in which a combination of factors gave one weed species an early size advantage over the crop. When weeds were controlled with herbicide, no effects of...