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Accepted manuscript

Seed germination ecology of Sporobolus pyramidalis and Sporobolus natalensis and herbicide options for their control

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 October 2025

Nasrin Teimoori*
Affiliation:
PhD, Department of Agronomy and Plant Breeding, Faculty of Agricultural Science and Engineering, Razi University, Kermanshah, Iran
Bhagirath Singh Chauhan*
Affiliation:
Professor, Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation (QAAFI), University of Queensland, Gatton, QLD 4343, Australia.
*
Author for correspondence: Nasrin Teimoori; E-mail: nasrin.teimoori@gmail.com, Bhagirath S. Chauhan; Email: b.chauhan@uq.edu.au
Author for correspondence: Nasrin Teimoori; E-mail: nasrin.teimoori@gmail.com, Bhagirath S. Chauhan; Email: b.chauhan@uq.edu.au
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Abstract

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Sporobolus pyramidalis and Sporobolus natalensis are two significant weed species that invade summer fields and pastures in the eastern regions of Australia. This study was conducted to examine seed germination behavior, seedling emergence, and the response of these species to various herbicides. Seed germination and seedling emergence were assessed in response to environmental factors, including alternating temperature regimes (15/5, 20/10, 25/15, 30/20, and 35/25 C), light conditions (dark and light/dark), osmotic potentials (0, −0.1, −0.2, −0.4, −0.8, and −1.6 MPa), and seed burial depths (0, 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 cm). Furthermore, the efficacy of several post-emergence herbicides was evaluated in pots under outdoor environmental conditions. Germination was also higher under light/dark (12 h light/12 h dark) conditions than under continuous darkness (24 h). The seeds of both species exhibited significantly higher germination (>95%) under 12 h light at higher temperatures (35/25 C) compared to low (20/10 C) or medium (25/15 C) temperatures. The osmotic potential required to inhibit 50% of maximum germination was -0.77 MPa for S. natalensis and -0.59 MPa for S. pyramidalis. Seedling emergence decreased with increasing burial depth, with no emergence observed from seeds buried at depths of 4 cm. Applying herbicides significantly reduced both species' seedling survival and dry matter. The most effective herbicides for controlling spring-germinated S. pyramidalis and S. natalensis were haloxyfop, clethodim, butroxydim, glyphosate, glufosinate, and paraquat, which provided satisfactory control of both species. The findings from this study can be used to develop effective management strategies for controlling S. pyramidalis and S. natalensis in agricultural systems.

Information

Type
Research Article
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BYCreative Common License - NCCreative Common License - ND
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is unaltered and is properly cited. The written permission of Cambridge University Press must be obtained for commercial re-use or in order to create a derivative work.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Weed Science Society of America