Premium
The effects of seed production techniques on seed characteristics, seedling growth and crop performance of crisp lettuce
Author(s) -
WURR D. C. E.,
FELLOWS JANE R.,
GRAY D.,
STECKEL JOYCE R. A.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
annals of applied biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.677
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1744-7348
pISSN - 0003-4746
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-7348.1986.tb01974.x
Subject(s) - seedling , biology , crop , agronomy , hybrid seed , germination , horticulture , field experiment , hybrid
SUMMARY Seed crops of crisp lettuce were produced in three years with and without gibberellin 4 plus 7 (GA 4+7 ) application to the young seedlings. The effects on seed and seedling characters and field performance of harvesting seed at different times, either by shaking out mature seed or by ‘windrow’ harvests, were assessed. Differences between treatments in seed and seedling characters within any one year were relatively small although those treatments producing large seed gave large seedlings and those giving uniform seed gave uniform seedlings. There were no important effects of seed production treatments on field characters in any one year. However, when different years of seed production were compared directly there was a large effect of year of production on seedling establishment and the size and uniformity of seedlings. Application of GA 4+7 resulted in heavier and more uniform seedlings in two of the three years. The results suggest that major differences between commercial seedlots occur as a result of differences in the environment rather than in the technique of seed production.