Effects of fungicide and sowing treatments on seed survival of three plant species on the Loess Plateau

doi:10.11686/cyxb2020465

Abstract

Abstract:

To explore how soil fungal pathogens influence seed survival in a typical grassland ecosystem on the Loess Plateau， we used a ‘seed bag burial and retrieval’ methodology， and treated seeds of three common plant species resident in the area （i.e. Lespedeza davurica， Stipa bungeana and Setaria viridis） with fungicide and then buried them in the field in seed bags， either with seeds of one plant species per bag or a mixture of the three species. We retrieved seed bags and evaluated seed survival in each bag after burial for 1 month and 3 months， and performed germination tests in the lab to determine seed viability. We found that， 1） S. bungeana had the highest field germination percentage， 51.9% on average， significantly higher （P<0.05） than that of L. davurica （14.6%） and S. viridis （26.1%）. Seed germination percentage in the field of the three species increased significantly with increasing burial time， but it was not affected by fungicide treatment and sowing treatment. 2） Seed mortality of L. davurica in the field was the lowest （about 1% on average）， while field mortality of seeds of S. bungeana and S. viridis was 5.1% and 4.4%， respectively. In the non-fungicide and monoculture treatments， field mortality of seeds of S. bungeana and S. viridis in the field was 12.5% and 11.0% after 1-month burial， significantly higher （P<0.05） than that of other treatment combinations. Field mortality of seeds of L. davurica was not affected by fungicide treatment， sowing treatment or the length of burial time. 3） Seed germination of S. bungeana in the lab test was the highest， 64.3% on average， significantly higher （P<0.05） than that of L. davurica （5.9%） and S. viridis （29.2%）. With the increase of burial time， seed germination percentage of L. davurica and S. viridis in the lab declined significantly， whereas germination of seeds of S. bungeana increased significantly. Our study suggests that the effects of fungal pathogens on seed survival varied among plant species， and seed mortality was decreased markedly in bags with a mixture of species compared to bags with a single seed species.

Key words: fungal pathogens, fungicide, Loess Plateau, soil seed banks, survival

Jin-wei HOU, Tao CHEN, Zhi-biao NAN. Effects of fungicide and sowing treatments on seed survival of three plant species on the Loess Plateau[J]. Acta Prataculturae Sinica, 2021, 30(3): 129-136.

Figures/Tables 3

References 34

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变异来源 Variation sources	自由度 df	田间发芽率Field germination	田间死亡率Field mortality	室内萌发率Lab germination
植物种 Plant species	2	263.39^***	51.46^***	536.27^***
埋藏方式Sowing treatment	1	6.20^*	20.47^***	5.72^*
杀菌剂处理Fungicide treatment	1	0.19	19.28^***	0.99
埋藏时间 Burial time	1	105.19^***	3.17	19.00^***
植物种×埋藏方式Plant species×sowing treatment	2	1.53	2.82	1.50
植物种×杀菌剂处理Plant species×fungicide treatment	2	1.48	3.74^*	0.05
埋藏方式×杀菌剂处理Sowing treatment×fungicide treatment	1	0.11	0.73	0.18
植物种×埋藏时间Plant species×burial length	2	5.83^**	0.16	204.67^***
埋藏方式×埋藏时间Sowing treatment×burial length	1	0.38	7.29^**	2.70
杀菌剂处理×埋藏时间Fungicide treatment×burial length	1	0.10	1.82	2.47
植物种×埋藏方式×杀菌剂处理Plant species×sowing treatment×fungicide treatment	2	1.11	0.45	2.01
植物种×埋藏方式×埋藏时间Plant species×sowing treatment×burial length	2	1.46	0.40	2.24
植物种×杀菌剂处理×埋藏时间Plant species×fungicide treatment×burial length	2	1.14	2.31	2.16
埋藏方式×杀菌剂处理×埋藏时间Sowing treatment×fungicide treatment×burial length	1	0.16	0.83	0.65
植物种×埋藏方式×杀菌剂处理×埋藏时间Plant species ×sowing treatment×fungicide treatment×burial length	2	0.07	0.90	1.65

变异来源 Variation sources	自由度 df	田间发芽率Field germination	田间死亡率Field mortality	室内萌发率Lab germination
植物种 Plant species	2	263.39^***	51.46^***	536.27^***
埋藏方式Sowing treatment	1	6.20^*	20.47^***	5.72^*
杀菌剂处理Fungicide treatment	1	0.19	19.28^***	0.99
埋藏时间 Burial time	1	105.19^***	3.17	19.00^***
植物种×埋藏方式Plant species×sowing treatment	2	1.53	2.82	1.50
植物种×杀菌剂处理Plant species×fungicide treatment	2	1.48	3.74^*	0.05
埋藏方式×杀菌剂处理Sowing treatment×fungicide treatment	1	0.11	0.73	0.18
植物种×埋藏时间Plant species×burial length	2	5.83^**	0.16	204.67^***
埋藏方式×埋藏时间Sowing treatment×burial length	1	0.38	7.29^**	2.70
杀菌剂处理×埋藏时间Fungicide treatment×burial length	1	0.10	1.82	2.47
植物种×埋藏方式×杀菌剂处理Plant species×sowing treatment×fungicide treatment	2	1.11	0.45	2.01
植物种×埋藏方式×埋藏时间Plant species×sowing treatment×burial length	2	1.46	0.40	2.24
植物种×杀菌剂处理×埋藏时间Plant species×fungicide treatment×burial length	2	1.14	2.31	2.16
埋藏方式×杀菌剂处理×埋藏时间Sowing treatment×fungicide treatment×burial length	1	0.16	0.83	0.65
植物种×埋藏方式×杀菌剂处理×埋藏时间Plant species ×sowing treatment×fungicide treatment×burial length	2	0.07	0.90	1.65

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