Seed-Germination Ecology of Vicia villosa Roth, a Cover Crop in Orchards

Abstract

Vicia villosa Roth is an annual cover crop that is widely grown in orchards in China. Information on seed ecology is valuable as it helps famers to plant cover crops and manage other weed species in agricultural practice; however, information on V. villosa seed-germination ecology is limited. Thus, this study investigated the seed germination and seedling emergence of V. villosa under various temperatures, photoperiods, levels of salt stress, pH, levels of osmotic stress, and burial depths. The results showed that the germination values of the V. villosa seeds were greater than 93% at the constant temperature range of 5–30 °C and fluctuating temperatures of 5/15 °C–20/30 °C; in particular, the germination of the seeds peaked 20 °C and 15/25 °C, with germination values of 95% and 94.5%, respectively. Light was not necessary for the V. villosa seeds’ germination. When the pH was in the range of 5–10, the germination values of the V. villosa seeds fluctuated between 85% and 94%, and obvious inhibition of germination was observed at pH = 4, with a germination value of 15%. The Vicia villosa seeds exhibited obvious salt tolerance, and the seed-germination value was still greater than 50% when the salt concentration reached 280 mM. The seeds were relatively sensitive to osmotic stress, and the germination value was lower than 50% when the osmotic potential was −0.5 MPa. In addition, the germination value of the seeds peaked when the seeds were 1–2 cm underneath the ground; in particular, the seeds still germinated and emerged when the seeds were buried in soli at a depth of 10 cm. These results confirmed that V. villosa, as a cover crop, has considerable potential to be planted and grown in orchards in China and, furthermore, that it may contribute to early weed management in fields, supporting the establishment of V. villosa populations.

Influence of β-Ionone in the Phytotoxicity of the Rhizome of Iris pallida Lam

“…Hairy Vetch was found to have inhibitory effects on the growth of harmful weeds due to its strong ability to compete for light, moisture, nutrients, etc., which is based on the release of the allelochemical, cyanamide [ 22 , 82 ]. Additionally, recent research also found that Hairy Vetch is more tolerant and sensitive to osmotic pressure in plantations than many plant species including Capsella bursa-pastoris , Myriophyllum aquaticum, and Avena fatua [ 83 , 84 , 85 , 86 ]. The last among the selected species was Brassica napus L., commonly known as Canola and or Rapeseed, which belongs to the Brassicaceae family.…”

Knowledge of Cover Crop Seed Traits and Treatments to Enhance Weed Suppression: A Narrative Review

“…Temperature and Soil Moisture Temperature and soil water are two important abiotic factors impacting germination and the early growth of seedlings [36], among others such as soil pH, active limestone, and texture [37]. The lowest water potential at which a seed can germinate, known as base water potential.…”

Vicia sativa and Vicia villosa enhance soil microbial composition, enzyme activities, and chemical properties in nutrient-deficient small-scale sugarcane plantation soils

“…Although the utilisation of V. sativa and V. villosa as green manure and cover crop is a growing practice in many agroecosystems [30,31], its biological and chemical contribution to sugarcane farming systems in South Africa is unknown. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the chemical and biological contributions of V. sativa and V. villosa to small-scale KwaZulu-Natal sugarcane soils.…”