Management practices effect on seed features of Italian ryegrass following storage period

V Mandic,S Vuckovic,Z Bijelic,A Simic,V Krnjaja,Z Tomic,R Stanisavljevic

doi:10.2298/bah1401145m

Abstract

Italian ryegrass seed crop was established in 2007 with two sowing densities (D1 = 60 cm row spacing and 5 kg ha-1 seeding rate; D2 = 20 cm row spacing and 20 kg ha-1 seeding rate) and using two spring nitrogen rates (0 and 150 kg N ha-1). Seed germination and thousand seed weight (TSW) of Italian ryegrass was observed in first production year. After harvest in June, seeds were stored under standard storage conditions and sampled 90 days after harvest (DAH), and then 2000 DAH. At 90 DAH, seeds were tested for TSW, as well as germination energy and total germination percentage at incubation temperatures of 10, 15, 20 and 25?C. Ryegrass seeds had the best germination energy 90 DAH at 20?C and maximum total germination at 15?C, which implies that early autumn (September-October) is proper sowing period for freshly harvested seeds of Italian ryegrass. Italian ryegrass seeds could maintain satisfactory germination energy (59.3%) and total germination (77.3%) up to 2000 DAH. High seed quality was obtained and applied treatments did not change seed quality significantly unlike storage period which had considerable influence on seed quality. The data can serve for the determination of a proper storage duration management between harvest and sowing of the tested species under ambient conditions of Serbia.

Highlights

Grass seed quality has been synonymous with germination, i.e. the measurement of the percentage of seeds growing normally under standardised, controlled, optimum laboratory conditions, set so that seed is given every chance to germinate to its full potential (ISTA, 2010)
Average thousand seed weight (TSW) varied among different seed sowing densities and nitrogen rates from 3.89 g to 4.32 g (Table 1), and that variation could be explained by environmental conditions during seed development and ripening
The high seed quality of Italian ryegrass was confirmed with this research and it is slightly influenced by different variants of establishment or by N spring application, but much more by storage period

Summary

Introduction

Grass seed quality has been synonymous with germination, i.e. the measurement of the percentage of seeds growing normally under standardised, controlled, optimum laboratory conditions, set so that seed is given every chance to germinate to its full potential (ISTA, 2010). Seed dormancy and slow seedling development often limit establishment of forage grass stands (Stanisavljević et al, 2011). Seed dormancy and delayed germination of forage grasses under natural conditions can be beneficial because they postpone germination and the initial growth of seedlings until environmental conditions improve (Stanisavljević et al, 2012). In Serbian conditions, approximately two and a half months elapses between the time of seed collection and the sowing of forage grasses during the autumn. Sowing in this period provides sufficient time for germination, seedling development, and survival during the winter. Usually measured as thousand seed weight (TSW), may be an indicator of quality, as increasing TSW can result in improved seedling growth (Hill et al, 1998). There may be interest in storing the seeds of Italian ryegrass over the two autumn sowings

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Conclusion