Germination and viability of Bromus rigidus Roth. under the action of different chemical treatments

Abstract

Bromus are annual herbaceous plants belonging to the Poaceae family. It’s about the weeds that infest cereals. The most harmful one is Bromus rigidus Roth. The purpose of this study is to find out the effect of different treatments on the germination and viability of ripgut brome. The first test in vitro germination was carried out on a collection, from 1993 to 2015, under controlled conditions in temperature (25°C), photoperiods (eight hours of darkness and sixteen hours of light) and relative humidity (70%). Several treatments were used: gibberellic acid (1g/l), hot water (ranging from 60°C to 90°C), sodium azide (1g/0,75l), potassium nitrate (10g/l) and sulfuric acid 5%. The results obtained showed that the bromus seeds collected on 2013 germinated at a rate of 60% without any treatment and of 100% with the different treatments. Gibberellic acid is the most element promoting germination. The germination rate of bromus rigidus depends closely on the year of seed harvest and also on the treatment carried out. The viability test in vitro under the effect of tetrazolium chloride (C19H15ClN4) which is used only on non-germinated seeds, showed that the seeds remain viable for seven years and they germinate only if favorable conditions are met.

Keywords

• bromus rigidus
• germination
• viabilité