Alfalfa germination

Experiments with gaseous acetic acid have been performed for disinfection of seeds intended for the production of bean sprouts (Delaquis et al., 1999). Salmonella typhimurium and E. coli 0157 H7 were eradicated from the surface of mung bean seeds and it was reported that the seed germination loss was not too large. The seeds have often been the suspected source of contamination in sprout-associated outbreaks and sanitation methods that do not interfere with the germination of the seeds are appreciated. Other volatile chemical treatments have been tested for lethality to Salmonella spp. on alfalfa seeds and sprouts with varying results both on the efficacy of the disinfectant and its effect on sensory qualities (Weissinger et al., 2001). 

Chun JC, Han KW, Jang BC, Shin HS (1988) Determination of phenolic compounds responsible for allelopathy in upland weeds. Korean J Weed Sci 8 258-264 Chung IM, Miller DA (1995) Effect of alfalfa plant and soil extracts on germination and growth of alfalfa. Agron J 87 762-767... 

Xiong J, Jia XL, Deng J, Jiang B, He F, Lin W (2007) Analysis of epistatic effect and QTL interactions with environment for allelopathy in rice (Oryza sativa L.). Allelopathy J 20 259-267 Xuan TD, Tsuzuki E (2001) Effects of application of alfalfa pellet on germination and growth of weeds. J Crop Prod 4 303-312... 

Uses Pre-emergence herbicide used in soil to control germinating broadleaf grasses and weeds in crops such as apples, cotton, grapes, pears, pineapples, and alfalfa sugar cane flowering depressant. 

In soil that has not had recent additions of plant residue or other organic material, microbial respiration proceeds at a low rate (13). Moreover, fungi apparently exist mostly as spores in a state of fungistasis. This microflora usually responds to the addition of plant residue by spore germination, increased respiration, and growth. These responses were induced by volatile components from alfalfa tops, corn leaves, wheat straw, bluegrass clippings, tea leaves, and tobacco leaves, even when the residue... 

Dornbos, D.L., Spencer, G.F. Jr., and Miller, R.W., Medicarpin delays alfalfa seed germination and seedling growth, Crop Set, 30, 162, 1990. 

Many alfalfa producers feed the crop to farm animals, so weed control is not a high priority. Thus, many alfalfa stands become heavily infested with weeds in 2-3 years and are plowed down, returning many weed seeds to the soil for later germination. When the field is planted to com, the bare ground and wide rows again make it possible for certain weed species to proliferate, such as quackgrass and those with long-lived seeds (Bowman, 1992). 

Figure 5. Alfalfa embryogenesis. A. An alfalfa somatic embryo, E, about to germinate, which is surrounded by callus C. B. Plantlets rooting. C. Regenerated plants in gravel in the greenhouse.

Nurse Crops—Plant species (usually annuals) which germinate quickly and grow rapidly are sometimes planted with a perennial crop to provide competition with weeds and allow the crop to become established. The nurse crop is then harvested or ranoved to allow the perennial crop to take over. For example, oats are sometimes used as a nurse crop to help establish alfalfa or clover. Annual ryegrass is sometimes used in mixtures to provide a nurse crop for perennial rye, fescue, or bluegrass. 

Petroski RJ, Dombos DL Jr, Powell RG. Germination and growth inhibition of annual ryegrass (Lolium multiflorum L.) and Alfalfa (Medicago sativa) by loline alkaloids and synthetic N-acylloline derivatives. J Agric Food Chem 38 1716-1718, 1990. 

Experiment Methods. Seeds of each alfalfa variety were soaked in distilled water for 2 h, blotted dry with filter paper to remove excess water, and then respectively transferred to distilled water, 0.5 % NaCl and 1 % NaCl solution. Seeds were germinated in duplicate at 25 1 C. SL was measured at 2, 4, 24, 48, 72, 96, 120, and 144 h. The germination rate of alfalfa seeds were >95 % in the pre-experiment. SL was measured using a single photon monitor, Beckman-5801 (liquid scintillation counter) at constant temperature in the absence of light for 30 s. 

Characteristic SL curve of germinating alfalfa seed. The SL of germinating alfalfa seeds in distilled water showed no significant difference (P> 0.05) among 5... 

Figure i Dynamic curve of supcrwcak luminescence of germinating seeds in alfalfa... 

This peak value is a characteristic value of metabolism in the germinating plant seed, and the SL time curve of a germinating seed is characteristic of the seed metabolism in each plant. The high SL values in alfalfa make it a good system to study SL. 

Comparison of SL between two varieties of alfalfa seed in distilled water and NaCI. The physiological action of the salt stressed germinating alfalfa seeds was restricted to some extent. SL of alfalfa seeds in NaCI was lower than in distilled water. In NaCI, the SL value of the seed decreased markedly, and the characteristic SL peak appeared 24 h later than for others treatments (Fig. 2). 

Fig. 3. Comparison of SL of different varieties of alfalfa at the stage of germination in NaCl solution...

Neetoo et al. (2008) demonstrated that high-pressure processing (650 MPa, 15min) resulted in approximately 5-log reduction in the population of E. coli during alfalfa seed decontamination. The germination rate of high-pressure decontaminated seeds was identical to that of untreated seeds. 

Molasses was found to be the most effective supplement tried. Germinated com was more effective aB a supplement to alfalfa than sound com, the results produced being similar to those produced by molasses. It is indicated that rye would be a suitable supplement but for the strong odor which it imparts to the silage. 

After having proved that it was, indeed, the same enzyme which effected either hydrolysis or synthesis, Bourquelot demonstrated the reversible action of other glycosidases a-glucosidase and a-galactosidase from bottom yeast, /3-galactosidase from almonds, and a-mannosidase from germinated alfalfa seeds. 

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