Germination of annual ryegrass seeds (Lolium rigidum Gaud.) as influenced by temperature, light, storage environment, and age

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Abstract
Germination of Lolium rigidum seeds, in the light (12 hr day length) and in the dark, at constant temperatures of 12, 18, and 24°C and an alternating temperature of 24/12° (12 / 12 hr), was studied in freshly harvested seeds and in seeds stored for 18 weeks. In freshly harvested seeds the highest germinability (80%) was recorded at 12° in either light or dark and at 24/12° in the light. After 18 weeks' storage, a germinability of between 95 and 100% was observed at 12° and 24/12° in the dark and at 24° and 24/12° in the light. In another experiment in which seeds from a different source were used, seeds kept in six different environments and recovered at 3-weekly intervals during a 21 week post-harvest period were examined for germinability and germination rate. The six environments were: storage in a room, storage in a 60/15°C temperature cabinet, and four field treatments in which seeds were buried 0.2 and 1.0 cm under both a bare and a mulched soil surface. Germination was tested in the light and in the dark at an alternating temperature of 24/12°. Major increases in seed germinability with age occurred during the first 9 weeks after harvest. The different environments influenced the relationship between seed age and germinability only during the first 9 weeks. Seeds located 0.2 cm beneath either a bare or a mulched soil surface during summer germinated at a faster rate than seeds kept in the other environments. These findings are discussed in relation to the germination behaviour of seeds in the field.

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