Plant Protect. Sci., 2013, 49(10):S11-S14 | DOI: 10.17221/30/2013-PPS

Secondary dormancy of seeds in relation to the Bromus tectorum-Pyrenophora semeniperda pathosystemOriginal Paper

Katie Karen HAWKINS¹, Phil ALLEN¹, Susan MEYER²

¹ Department of Plant and Wildlife Sciences, Brigham Young University, Provo, USA

² Shrub Sciences Laboratory, Provo, USA

Bromus tectorum is a highly invasive annual grass. The fungal pathogen Pyrenophora semeniperda can kill a large fraction of B. tectorum seeds. Outcomes in this pathosystem are often determined by the speed of seed germination. In this paper we extend previous efforts to describe the pathosystem by characterising secondary dormancy acquisition of B. tectorum. In the laboratory approximately 80% of seeds incubated at -1.0 MPa became dormant. In the field, seeds were placed in the seed bank in late autumn, retrieved monthly and dormancy status determined. The field study confirmed the laboratory results; ungerminated seeds became increasingly dormant. Our data suggest that secondary dormancy is much more likely to occur at xeric sites.

Keywords: biological control; invasive annual grass

Published: December 31, 2013  Show citation