Evaluation of the viability of old seeds of several important agricultural weeds

Abstract

Persistent seed banks are equally important in agriculture and invasion biology. While seed vitality persistence exemplifies an eternal uphill battle for weed control in agriculture, it signals a potential invasiveness of species in invasion biology. Considering yield losses caused by Amaranthus retroflexus, Abutilon theophrasti, Chenopodium album and Datura stramonium in agriculture, and the importance of Ambrosia trifida as an emerging invader in Europe, the objective of this study was to test the viability and longevity of the aged seeds of these economically important weeds. Three seed viability/longevity tests were conducted: the crush test, germination test in Petri dishes, and 3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) test. The results revealed a significant variation in germination potential among the tested species. The highest vitality was observed in 7-year-old seeds of A. retroflexus (41.67 %), followed by 16-year-old A. theophrasti seeds (17.78 %), 13-year-old C. album seeds (15.00 %) and 17-yearold D. stramonium seeds (7.5 %). Furthermore, a remarkable seed longevity was documented in the tested species (with the exception of A. trifida), preserving their germination potential for over half a century. Seed germination was recorded in 49-year-old seeds of D. stramonium, 53-year-old seeds of A. retroflexus, 58-year-old seeds of A. theophrasti and 59-year-old seeds of C. album, in strong evidence of the persistence of these weed species’ seeds in the environment.

Prisustvo banke semena je podjednako važno za poljoprivrednu praksu i oblast bioloških invazija. U poljoprivredi vitalnost semena predstavlja borbu protiv korova, a u oblasti invazivne biologije to je signal invazivnog potencijala vrste. Uzimajući u obzir smanjenje prinosa zbog prisustva vrsta Amaranthus retroflexus, Abutilon teophrasti, Chenopodium album i Datura stramonium u poljoprivrednoj praksi i značaj invazije Ambrosia trifida u Evropi, cilj rada je bio da se ispita vitalnost i dugovečnost starih semena navedenih ekonomski značajnih vrsta. Urađena su tri testa za proveru vitalnosti/dugovečnosti semena: test gnječenja, test klijanja u Petri posudama i tetrazolijum test (3,5 trifeniltetrazolijum hlorid-TTC). Dobijeni rezultati su pokazali velike varijacije potencijala klijavosti. Najveća vitalnost je utvrđena za seme A.retroflexus starog 7 godina (41,67%), zatim semena A. teophrasti starog 16 godina (17,78%), trinaestogodišnjeg semena C. album (15%) i sedamnaestogodišnjeg semena D. stramonium (7,5%). Takođe, utvrđena je izuzetna vitalnost semena testiranih vrsta (osim A. trifida) starog više od pola veka. Zabeležena je klijavost 49 godina starog semena D. stramonium, 53 godina starog semena A. retroflexus, 58 godina starog semena A. teophrasti i 59 godina starog semena C. album, čime se potvrđuje njihova perzistentnot u životnoj sredini.