Seeds of annual and perennial grasses were planted in the field in fall, winter, and spring to test the rapidity of their germination at low temperatures. They were brought from the field into the laboratory at frequent intervals and germinated at 10 degrees C. In general, the longer the exposure to field conditions, the more rapid the subsequent germination. After 1 month of exposure to the winter environment, the ranking of species in order of decreasing rapidity of germination (at 10 degrees C) was as follows: cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum), medusahead (Taeniatherum asperum), crested wheatgrass (Agropyron desertorum), Siberian wheatgrass (Agropyron sibiricum), bluebunch wheatgrass (Agropyron spicatum), and smooth brome (Bromus inermis). The order in which seedlings emerged was the same, except that medusahead emerged earlier than cheatgrass. When seedlings are exposed to drought or to competition with other species, rapidity of germination at low temperatures may be important to their survival. This material was digitized as part of a cooperative project between the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. The Journal of Range Management archives are made available by the Society for Range Management and the University of Arizona Libraries. Contact lbry-journals@email.arizona.edu for further information. Migrated from OJS platform August 2020
Scholarly peer-reviewed articles published by the Society for Range Management. Access articles on a rolling-window basis from vol. 1, 1948 up to 5 years from the current year. Formerly Journal of Range Management (JRM). More recent content is available by subscription from SRM.