Soil water potential and temperature sum during reproductive growth control seed dormancy in Alopecurus myosuroides...

The sustainable management of unwanted vegetation in agricultural fields through integrated weed control strategies requires detailed knowledge about the maternal formation of primary seed dormancy, to support the prediction of seedling emergence dynamics. This knowledge is decisive for the timing of crop sowing and nonchemical weed control measures. Studies in controlled environments have already demonstrated that thermal conditions and, to some extent, water availability during seed set and maturation has an impact on the level of dormancy. However, it is still unclear if this applies also under field conditions, where environmental stressors and their timing are more variable. We address this question for Alopecurus myosuroides in south-western Sweden. We quantified the effects of cumulated temperature and precipitation as well as soil water potential during the reproductive growth phase of A myosuroides on primary seed dormancy under field conditions. Empirical models differing in focal time intervals and, in case of soil water potential, focal soil depths were compared regarding their predictive power. The highest predictive power for the level of primary dormancy of A. myosuroides seeds was found for a two-factorial linear model containing air temperature sum between 0 and 7 days before peak seed shedding as well as the number of days with soil water potential below field capacity between 7 and 35 days before peak seed shedding. For soil water potential, it was found that only the top 10 cm soil layer is of relevance, which is in line with the shallow root architecture of A. myosuroides. We conclude that for this species the level of dormancy depends on the magnitude and timing of temperature and water availability during the reproductive growth phase. Water availability appears to be more important during maternal environmental perception and temperature during zygotic environmental perception.