Demography of Digitaria sanguinalis: Effect of the emergence time on survival, reproduction, and biomass

Abstract

Knowledge of weed population dynamics is crucial for designing effective weed management practises. A field experiment was carried out at Torre Marimon (near Barcelona, north‐eastern Spain) in 2006 and 2007 in order to study the effects of the seedling emergence time on Digitaria sanguinalis fitness. Three and four cohorts were monitored in 2006 and 2007, respectively. In 2007, the seedling density was fourfold greater than in 2006. At the end of the growing season, no statistically significant differences in survival were detected among the cohorts in 2006 (the mean survival rate was 88%); in contrast, in 2007, individual survival varied depending on the cohort, ranging from 25–88%. The reproductive traits and seed production were significantly influenced by the emergence time. In the cohorts that emerged very close in time, the individuals of the first cohort on average had more than threefold the amount of seed production than those of the last cohort. However, not all the surviving individuals were able to reproduce because they were infected by the smut, Ustilago syntherismae.