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THE INFLUENCE OF LIGHT AND POTASSIUM NITRATE ON THE DORMANCY AND GERMINATION OF AVENAFATUA L. (WILDOAT) SEED AND ITS ECOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE
Author(s) -
HILTON JANET R.
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
new phytologist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.742
H-Index - 244
eISSN - 1469-8137
pISSN - 0028-646X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-8137.1984.tb03540.x
Subject(s) - germination , darkness , potassium nitrate , dormancy , phytochrome , avena fatua , potassium , seed dormancy , blue light , nitrate , biology , botany , agronomy , chemistry , red light , ecology , physics , organic chemistry , optics
S ummary It has been suggested that applications of nitrogen‐containing fertilizers can stimulate the germination of dormant Avena fatua L. seed in the field and may be used to reduce numbers of seeds in the soil. However, it is not clear whether a subsequent cultivation imposing a light treatment on a proportion of the buried seeds is also necessary. To study this question potassium nitrate (KNO 3 ) was applied to dormant seed of A. fatua in darkness and in light under controlled laboratory conditions. Potassium nitrate had very little effect on germination in darkness but concentrations of 2 × 10 −4 , 2 × 10 −3 and 2 × 10 −2 M stimulated germination in the light. The degree of stimulation by light was related to the proportion of phytochrome that was maintained as Pfr, the physiologically active form. In the presence of 2 × 10 −1 M KNO 3 no germination occurred either in light or in darkness.