Dormancy Variations in Common Purslane Seeds

Abstract

Common purslane (Portulaca oleraceaL.) seeds, produced by the same plants, had different degrees of dormancy. The dormancy variations were caused neither by low seed viability nor by location on the plant where seeds were produced. Seed water content and seed age at time of collection contributed to, but were not solely responsible for, the dormancy variations. Immature, brown seeds of high water content were less dormant than the more mature, black seeds of low water content. The immature seeds germinated better in the dark than did the more mature seeds. A puncture in the seed, over the radicle, broke purslane dormancy. Dormancy was not caused by blockage of water imbibition by seeds. Purslane dormancy developed during later stages of seed maturation on the mother plant.