Laboratory Germination of Monocot Weeds

Abstract

Weed control is an ever-evolving topic and it is considered to become even more critical in the future. Due to inappropriate practices and unilateral use of herbicides, in many cases we can observe a high variability in the genetic make-up of weeds, which provides them with an excellent survival and spreading strategy. Due to their extreme variability and intraspecific diversity, controlling them becomes more and more complicated.
In our studies - laboratory Petri dish germination tests i.e. bioassay - we observed the germination biology of three key monocotyledonous field weeds: Johnsongrass, Yellow bristle-grass, and wild millet. Depending on the time of weed collection, seed age, storage conditions and species, germination percentage varied significantly; it ranged from 1 to 100%. Millet germination was found to be the highest (close to 100%), while seeds (=its grain) of Yellow bristle-grass germinated the least.
These results indicate that storage time and storage method will influence the germination capacity in certain cases.