engleski

Quantitative analysis of Abutilon theophrasti Medik. emergence from buried seed with increasing soil depth

Abutilon theophrasti (velvetleaf) is an invasive species originated from China and nowadays is one of the worst agricultural weeds. As a summer species with rapid growth, high photosynthetic rates, and abundant seed production, velvetleaf posses the competitive superiority of over crop and other weed species. Knowledge of germination ecology and emergence behavior in the field could facilitate development of effective weed control programs. In the field conditions seed germination is influenced by numerous environmental factors but final emergence depends mostly on soil depth. Emergence from different soil depths has been found to be proportional to seed specific weight. Unlike most weeds, the specific velvetlaf weight is relatively higher allowing it germination even from deeper soil depths. Field experiments were carried out at the Experimental station Maksimir of the University of Zagreb Faculty of Agriculture during vegetation seasons 2014 and 2015. Velvetleaf seeds were collected from September to November 2013 and 2014, handcleaned and stored in paper bags at room temperature until use in the trials. Experiment design was a randomized complete block with four replications. Treatments consisted of an untreated and treated (scarified) seeds and burial at three soil depths: 3, 6 and 9 cm. Results indicated that velvetleaf emergence was greatly influenced by vegetation season (33% in 2014 and 48, 3% in 2015). In both years the highest emergence was observed at a shallowest depth (3 cm). At grater depths (6 and 9 cm) emergence was influenced by vegetation years and seed treatments

velvetleaf, weed species, seed scarification, emergence behavior

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