Publication Date
1985
Location
Kyoto Japan
Description
Grass seeds stored 20 years at subfreezing temperatures germinated well under sterile laboratory conditions in earlier studies. This study was conducted to determine whether forage yields from seeds stored 22 to 26 years at subfreezing temperatures were comparable to those from fresh seeds. Included were seed of eight cultivars: three cultivars of orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.), two of smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.), two of timothy (Phleum pratense L.), and one of meadow fescue (Festuca elatior L.). Fresh_ and stored seed of each cultivar was planted in field plots in April 1984. Each entry was replicated five times m plots measunng 4 m each. Results are based on two forage harvests in year of establishment. Season total yields ranged from 8.0 to 12.5 metric tons/hectare dry forage. Within cultivars forage yields from 22 to 26-year-old stored seed did not differ from those of fresh seed with the exception of one orchardgrass cultivar. Stored seed that tested viable in laboratory tests generally produced as well in the field as fresh seed, but stored seed of S-143 orchardgrass lacked vigor and performed poorly in the field.
Citation
Rincker, Clarence M., "Effect of Long-Term Subfreezing Seed Storage on Forage Production of Eight Grass Cultivars" (1985). IGC Proceedings (1985-2023). 35.
(URL: https://uknowledge.uky.edu/igc/1985/ses2/35)
Included in
Agricultural Science Commons, Agronomy and Crop Sciences Commons, Plant Biology Commons, Plant Pathology Commons, Soil Science Commons, Weed Science Commons
Effect of Long-Term Subfreezing Seed Storage on Forage Production of Eight Grass Cultivars
Kyoto Japan
Grass seeds stored 20 years at subfreezing temperatures germinated well under sterile laboratory conditions in earlier studies. This study was conducted to determine whether forage yields from seeds stored 22 to 26 years at subfreezing temperatures were comparable to those from fresh seeds. Included were seed of eight cultivars: three cultivars of orchardgrass (Dactylis glomerata L.), two of smooth bromegrass (Bromus inermis Leyss.), two of timothy (Phleum pratense L.), and one of meadow fescue (Festuca elatior L.). Fresh_ and stored seed of each cultivar was planted in field plots in April 1984. Each entry was replicated five times m plots measunng 4 m each. Results are based on two forage harvests in year of establishment. Season total yields ranged from 8.0 to 12.5 metric tons/hectare dry forage. Within cultivars forage yields from 22 to 26-year-old stored seed did not differ from those of fresh seed with the exception of one orchardgrass cultivar. Stored seed that tested viable in laboratory tests generally produced as well in the field as fresh seed, but stored seed of S-143 orchardgrass lacked vigor and performed poorly in the field.
