Abstract
Germination, emergence and establishment phase are critical to the growth cycle of plant as it determines the density of the stand obtained. However, a number of factors including soil available moisture decrease seed germination and the rate of decline is found to vary with crop species. Pot experiment was therefore conducted to evaluate the germination responses of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.) and maize (Zea mays, L) genotypes to varying soil available moisture. Seeds of ten varieties each of cowpea and maize were germinated at three available soil moisture contents (25%, 50% and 100% field capacity). The moisture contents were determined gravimetrically. An experimental unit was a 10L pot filled with 10 Kg top soil, planted with 25 seeds and moistened to the required soil moisture content. Daily emergence was recorded from 5 days after planting (DAP) to 15 DAP. Data collected were used to estimate germination percentage (E%) and speed of germination as mean germination time (MGT). Both the speed of germination and final germination percentage were significantly decreased by inadequate soil moisture (25%) in both cowpea and maize with greater effect on cowpea which also showed greater genotypic variations in germinability at the sub-optimal moisture condition than maize. Speed of germination and germination percentage in cowpea were also reduced at water saturation condition (100%), while maize gave the best results at this moisture content. These results therefore suggest that both inadequate and too much soil moisture conditions are detrimental to seed germination in cowpea, while maize can tolerate the two conditions. Nevertheless, non-significant interactions of soil moisture and crop species suggest similar responses of genotypes of both species to soil available moisture, but with greater magnitudes in cowpea genotypes. Keywords: Soil moisture content, crop species germination, cowpea and maize. Agrosearch Vol. 7 (1&2) 2005: pp. 34-42
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Claims 9
Claim · model-written summary
At 25% soil moisture, cowpea germination speed declined significantly.
- Taxon
- cowpea
Vigna unguiculatae0 - Treatment
- inadequate soil moisture (25%)e0
- Outcome
- speed of germinatione0
- Direction
- decreasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Both the speed of germination and final germination percentage were significantly decreased by inadequate soil moisture (25%) in both cowpea and maize”
Claim · model-written summary
At 25% soil moisture, cowpea final germination percentage declined significantly.
- Taxon
- cowpeaVigna unguiculatae0
- Treatment
- inadequate soil moisture (25%)e0
- Outcome
- final germination percentagee0
- Direction
- decreasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Both the speed of germination and final germination percentage were significantly decreased by inadequate soil moisture (25%) in both cowpea and maize”
Claim · model-written summary
At 25% soil moisture, maize germination speed declined significantly.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Both the speed of germination and final germination percentage were significantly decreased by inadequate soil moisture (25%) in both cowpea and maize”
Claim · model-written summary
At 25% soil moisture, maize final germination percentage declined significantly.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Both the speed of germination and final germination percentage were significantly decreased by inadequate soil moisture (25%) in both cowpea and maize”
Claim · model-written summary
At suboptimal moisture, cowpea had a larger germination response and more genotypic variation than maize.
- Taxon
- cowpeaVigna unguiculatae0
- Outcome
- genotypic variations in germinabilitye0
- Direction
- greatere0
- Comparator
- maizee0
- Setting
- sub-optimal moisture conditione0
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“greater effect on cowpea which also showed greater genotypic variations in germinability at the sub-optimal moisture condition than maize”
Claim · model-written summary
At 100% moisture, cowpea germination speed fell.
- Taxon
- cowpeaVigna unguiculatae0
- Treatment
- water saturation condition (100%)e0
- Outcome
- Speed of germinatione0
- Direction
- reducede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Speed of germination and germination percentage in cowpea were also reduced at water saturation condition (100%)”
Claim · model-written summary
At 100% moisture, cowpea germination percentage fell.
- Taxon
- cowpeaVigna unguiculatae0
- Treatment
- water saturation condition (100%)e0
- Outcome
- germination percentagee0
- Direction
- reducede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Speed of germination and germination percentage in cowpea were also reduced at water saturation condition (100%)”
Claim · model-written summary
Maize had its best germination at 100% moisture.
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“water saturation condition (100%), while maize gave the best results at this moisture content”
t0“maize”
Claim · model-written summary
Soil moisture by crop species interaction was nonsignificant.
- Taxon
- cowpea and maizeVigna unguiculata
Zea mayst0 - Outcome
- interactions of soil moisture and crop speciese0
- Setting
- soil available moisturee0
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“non-significant interactions of soil moisture and crop species suggest similar responses of genotypes of both species to soil available moisture”
t0“Cowpea and Maize”
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soil water · growth · Vigna unguiculata (cowpea)Positive and negative results
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See all 42 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.