Modelling effects of prolonged conditioning on dormancy and germination of Striga hermonthicaDzomeku, I. K. and Murdoch, A. J. (2007) Modelling effects of prolonged conditioning on dormancy and germination of Striga hermonthica. Journal of Agronomy, 6. pp. 235-249. ISSN 1812-5379 Full text not archived in this repository. It is advisable to refer to the publisher's version if you intend to cite from this work. See Guidance on citing. To link to this item DOI: 10.3923/ja.2007.235.249 Abstract/SummaryThe impact of environment on the germination biology of the parasite was studied in the laboratory with seeds conditioned at various water potentials, urea concentrations and at 17.5 to 37.5°C for up to 133 days. Maximum germination was observed at 20 to 25°C. Water stress and urea suppressed maximum germination. The final percentage germination response to period of conditioning showed a non-linear relationship and suggests the release of seeds from dormancy during the initial period and later on dormancy induction. Germination percentage increased with increase in conditioning period to a threshold and remained stable for variable periods followed by a decline with further extension of conditioning time. The decline in germination finally terminated in zero germination in most treatments before the end of experimentation. The investigated factors of temperature, water potential and urea showed clear effects on the expression of dormancy pattern of the parasite. The effects of water potential and urea were viewed as modifying a primary response of seeds to temperature during conditioning. The changes in germinability potential during conditioning were consistent with the hypothesis that dormancy periods are normally distributed within seed populations and that loss of primary dormancy precedes induction of secondary dormancy. Hence an additive mathematical model of loss of primary dormancy and induction of secondary as affected by environment was developed as: G = {[Φ-1 (Kp+ (po+pnN+pwW) (T-Tb) t)]-[Φ-1 (Ks+ ((swW+sa)+sorT)t)]}[Φ-1(aT2+bT+c+cwW)].
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