Premium
The effects of soil texture and moisture on reproductive strategies of Spergula arvensis L. and Plantago major L.
Author(s) -
TRIVEDI SUDHIR,
TRIPATHI R. S.
Publication year - 1982
Publication title -
weed research
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.693
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1365-3180
pISSN - 0043-1737
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-3180.1982.tb00142.x
Subject(s) - mentha arvensis , water content , biology , plantago , agronomy , soil texture , reproduction , environmental science , botany , horticulture , soil water , ecology , geology , geotechnical engineering , essential oil
Summary The reproductive strategies of two weeds, Spergula arvensis L. and Plantago major L., were studied in relation to soil texture and moisture regime. On sandy soil, daily watering gave greatest dry wt per plant in S. arivensis , while fortnightly watering gave the greatest in P. major . In P. major , seed production was increased with increased moisture stress in sandy soil, but not in garden soil when watered fortnightly. Conversely, S. arvensis showed a decrease in seed number with increasing moisture stress in both soil types. The reproductive effort of S. arvensis was much greater (26.2–63.1%) than P. major (2.3–9.2%). There was greater emphasis on reproduction by S. arvensis under both soil types and various moisture regimes while P. major was characterized by higher allocation to vegetative structures which may confer a competitive advantage by increasing its efficiency of resource capture. Thus, S. arvensis seems to be r‐selected and P. major K‐selected. The differences in the reproductive strategies of the two weeds are discussed with reference to the environmental conditions under which they grow in nature.