Premium
Oil Treatment and Digestion Depresses Germination of Grass Seed
Author(s) -
Ocumpaugh W. R.,
Swakon D. H. D.,
Tischler C. R.,
Valle L. S.
Publication year - 1994
Publication title -
crop science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.76
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1435-0653
pISSN - 0011-183X
DOI - 10.2135/cropsci1994.0011183x003400050033x
Subject(s) - germination , biology , digestion (alchemy) , panicum virgatum , agronomy , panicum , poaceae , forage , bioenergy , chemistry , microbiology and biotechnology , biofuel , chromatography
Numerous grasses, including Panicum spp., produce seed that survive passage through the digestive system of livestock and germinate in the feces. Managing livestock to distribute viable seed of desirable plants is a means of revegetating degraded grasslands. Potential germination of grass seeds declines with increased resident time in the gastrointestinal tract. Loss of seed germinability with increased resident time may be caused by indirect effects of secondary metabolites of digestion on the embryo. The cause of the loss of seed germinability is not known, nor is the identity of the secondary metabolites. We hypothesized that coating seed with oil would reduce damage caused by these secondary metabolites. Our objective was to elucidate the effect of oil treatments on germination of Panicum ssp. seed following in vitro and in vivo digestion. TEM‐LD1 kleingrass ( P. coloratum L.) and ‘Alamo’ and ‘Sunburst’ switchgrass ( P. virgatum L.) seeds were evaluated in a series of trials with and without pretreatment with oil. Corn ( Zea mays L.) and mineral oil without subsequent digestion had a small negative effect on germination. Duration of seed exposure to oil or oil type had no effect on seed germination. However, oil pretreatments significantly reduced germination of digested seed of both species in all trials. Mineral oil reduced germination more than corn oil, and increased exposure time to oil prior to digestion further depressed (up to fourfold) seed germination. Apparently, oil treatment solubilized the protective layer of the seed coat, thereby enhancing the digestion effect on the seed embryo. These differential responses may help elucidate the nature of the protective mechanism of the seed against digestion effects. We conclude that oil treatment cannot be used to protect these seeds from digestion effects.