Search results for "seed production"

Effects of harvesting methods on seed yield and quality of Scorpiurs muricatus L..

2009

Scorpiurus muricatus L. is an annual legume, widely distributed in Mediterranean pastures, that is appreciated by farmers for its productivity, forage quality, and palatability. It is characterised by long flowering and ripening periods and by pod shedding. These characteristics cause high seed losses, which could reduce its seed harvest efficiency in terms of seed yield and quality. In this study, we investigated the effects on seed yield and quality of different harvesting methods (windrowing at different times with subsequent combining was compared with direct combining). Our results show that direct combining when the pods were fully ripened reduced pod losses compared with swathing met…

2016

AbstractUnderstanding the dynamics of zoonotic pathogens in their reservoir host populations is a prerequisite for predicting and preventing human disease epidemics. The human infection risk of Puumala hantavirus (PUUV) is highest in northern Europe, where populations of the rodent host (bank vole, Myodes glareolus) undergo cyclic fluctuations. We conducted a 7-year capture-mark-recapture study to monitor seasonal and multiannual patterns of the PUUV infection rate in bank vole populations exhibiting a 3-year density cycle. Infected bank voles were most abundant in mid-winter months during years of increasing or peak host density. Prevalence of PUUV infection in bank voles exhibited a regul…

Absence of Sex Differential Plasticity to Light Availability during Seed Maturation in Geranium sylvaticum

2015

Sex-differential plasticity (SDP) hypothesis suggests that since hermaphrodites gain fitness through both pollen and seed production they may have evolved a higher degree of plasticity in their reproductive strategy compared to females which achieve fitness only through seed production. SDP may explain the difference in seed production observed between sexes in gynodioecious species in response to resource (nutrients or water) availability. In harsh environments, hermaphrodites decrease seed production whereas females keep it relatively similar regardless of the environmental conditions. Light availability can be also a limiting resource and thus could theoretically affect differently femal…

Berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) seed production in Mediterranean environments.

2013

Cut and post-cut herbage management affects berseem clover seed yield.

2013

The seed yield of berseem clover (Trifolium alexandrinum L.) is usually obtained from regrowth after forage utilization. In stockless, cereal-growing, or specialized seed farms the forage is not needed and the mowed herbage is seldom marketable. Three different experiments were conducted in a Mediterranean environment to evaluate the effect of returning the cut biomass to the soil/crop on the regrowth, seed yield, and seed quality of berseem clover. Different forms of cut and post-cut management were examined, in which the time of cutting, the amount of biomass returned to the crop/soil, and the size of the returned material (unchopped or chopped) all varied. In addition, the effect of the …