Reproductive strategies in plants

 Seed vs vegetative reproduction

o Flowering plants can reproduce sexually or asexually
o Typical scenario:
 Annuals = seeds
 Water plants = vegetative
 Herbaceous plants = sexual and vegetative
o Adaptive value of reproductive methods
 Seed reproduction
 Produce large numbers
 Dispersal to new ground
 Survive adverse conditions
 Genetically unique (crossing over and recombination)
 Vegetative reproduction
 Genetically identical to parent
 Dependability
o Seed size and number
 Size may be a compromise between requirements for dispersal and
seedling establishment
 Larger seeds are associated with drier environments
 Very small seeds tend to be associated with:
 Parasitic or saprophytic plants for wide dispersal
 Plants that establish in persistent dormant seed banks
 Seed weight is much more constant than size
Seed Vigor
 It determines the potential for rapid, uniform emergence and development of
normal seedlings under a wide range of field conditions.
 Attributes of high seed vigor
1. Speed of germination
2. Uniform germination and plant development
3. Ability to emerge under crusted soil conditions
4. Higher crop yield
5. Yield stability
 Factors affecting seed vigor
 Genetic Constitution
 Hybrid vigor
 Hard seeds
 Susceptibility to mechanical damage
 Chemical composition
 Environment During Seed Development
 Ambient temperature
 Humidity
 Soil moisture & fertility
Dispersal
 Plants show features which enhance distance of dispersal from parent.

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  These features are genetically determined and therefore evolved and adaptive,
conferring advantages to the species.
 Advantages of dispersal are:
1. reduced competition of offspring with parent,
2. reduced competition between offspring;
3. reduced chance of attack by predators and pathogens;
4. reduced inbreeding amongst offspring.
 Factors affecting dispersal are:
 Size and shape of the seed
 Height of the plant
 Speed of the agency e.g. wind
 Density of the surrounding vegetation
 The main role of a fruit is dispersal of the offspring (seeds) to a new
environment.
 Sometimes, the fruit releases the seeds (dehiscent) which are the actual dispersal
agent. For example, the milkweed pod splits open to release the plumed seeds.
 Botanists call the actual dispersal unit, whether seed or fruit, a diaspore.
 There are many means by which diaspores are dispersed:

A. Wind. Fruits/seeds can have a variety of modification for wind dispersal including:
 Parachutes - such as the plumed or wooly seeds or fruits of Cattails and Willow
 Wings - in fruits/seeds like Maple and Ash. These fruits/seeds often spiral to the
ground like a helicopter.
 Sails - that catch in the wind like Birch
 Dust - these seeds are so tiny that they are easily blown about (i.e., orchid seeds)
 Shakers - in these plants the wind batters the plant throwing the seeds such as in
Poppy

B. Water. This mode includes such agents as rivers, floods, ice, sea (coconut,
mangrove) and rainwash dispersal. Seeds of the latter species are essentially splashed
out of a cup-like fruit by a raindrop. Wild rice seeds are dropped into the water and
dispersed.

C. Animal Dispersal. There are several ways animals disperse propagules:

1. Collectors - small mammals, birds and ants will carry the seed or fruit to a nest or
other area for storage. Examples include caching of acorns by squirrels, others by
birds;
2. Ingestion (i.e., Cherry, Juniper);
3. Hitchhiking - many plants are adapted to hitch hike a ride on an unsuspecting
animals. For example some fruits are: (a) sticky - such as Mistletoe; (b) barbs or
awns that grab on to an animal - such as Cocklebur, This group of plants are
usually low-growing annuals that are found in disturbed, dry areas

D. Mechanical Dispersal. Explosive dehiscence in plants such as Impatiens (touch-me-

nots)

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E. Humidity Sensitivity. Some fruits/plants are sensitive to humidity which aids in their
dissemination. For example, the fruiting umbels of Queen Anne's lace opens and closes
with the humidity and the awns of needle-grass twist to help plant the seed.

F. Humans. Diaspores have been mostly unintentionally dispersed by: (a) accident (via
vehicles, persons, trains); (b) crop seeds.

Seed Dormancy
The ability of seeds to delay germination until the time and place are right
 Major Types
 Primary Dormancy
 Exogenous Dormancy
 Essential germination components are not available
 Generally related to the seed coat or other physical factors
 Factors responsible for Exogenous Dormancy
1. Water
2. Gases
3. Mechanical Restriction
 Methods of Breaking Exogenous Dormancy
0. Mechanical Scarification
1. Chemical Scarification
 Endogenous Dormancy
0. The most prevalent form of dormancy
1. Due to internal properties of the seed
 Causes of Endogenous Dormancy
0. Environmental conditions during development & maturity
1. Day-length during seed development
2. Moisture status of mother plant
3. Position of the seed on the inflorescence
4. Age of the mother plant
5. Environmental conditions during seed development
 Rudimentary Embryo Dormancy
0. Seeds shed before they are morphologically mature
1. Occurs in several tree and fruit species
 Physiological Dormancy
0. Generally results from an imbalance of inhibitors &
promoters
1. Light & temperature are frequently involved
 Examples of Physiological Dormancy
0. Metabolic Inhibition
 Cyanide
 Phenolic compounds
 Abscisic acid
1. Osmotic Inhibition
 Sugars & salts
 Other electrolytes

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  Methods of breaking Physiological Dormancy
0. Scarification
1. Stratification
2. Light
o Other types of dormancy
 Circadian Rhythms
0. Involves an internal time measuring mechanism
 Secondary Dormancy
0. Occurs in non dormant seeds after maturity
 Possible causes of Secondary Dormancy
0. Temperature
1. Moisture
2. Chemicals
3. Gases
 Suggested modes of action:
0. Blockage of a metabolic sequence
1. Unfavorable balance of growth- promoters & -inhibitors
Seed Germination
 Requirements for Germination
o Maturity
o Proper balance between inhibitors and promotors
o Environmental factors
 Water
 Air
 Temperature
 Light
 Intensity
 Quality
 Day length
 Steps of Seed Germination
o Imbibition
 Controlled by:
 Chemical composition of the seed
 Seed coat permeability
 Water availability
o Enzyme activation
 Hydrolytic enzymes
 Synthesis of new materials
o Breakdown of storage tissues
 Carbohydrates
 Hydrolysis of amylopectin & amylose
 Glycolysis
 Krebs cycle
 Lipids
 Oxidation processes
 Proteins

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  Proteolytic enzymes
 Phospholipids
o Initiation of Embryo Growth
o Protrusion of the Radicle
 Seedling Establishment
 Overall Changes During Germination
o Dry weight changes
o Transfer of carbohydrates, lipids and proteins
o Increases in nucleic acids
 Chemical Promotion
o Gibberellins
o Cytokinins
o Ethylene
o Hydrogen Peroxide
o Auxins
o Thiourea
o Other Chemicals
 Additional Factors
o Osmotic Pressure
o pH
 Seed Quality
o Freedom from disease
o Size
o Density
o Color

Ecological Seed Bank:

 It is a very important trait of plant communities.
 It may be defined as the natural storehouse of seeds of all the seed bearing
plants in a plant community.
 It depends on the no. of seeds produced, their proper dissemination, viability
and dormancy.
 Once a seed lands on the soil, it usually stays on or in the soil at that spot.
However, not all seeds sprout the next spring (year).
 This allows plant seeds to sprout over a number of years thus increasing a plant
species chances of surviving bad years. For instance, though most sprout in the
first few years after they fall onto the soil, some spotted knapweed seeds last 10
years in the soil before they sprout. These unsprouted seeds in the soil are called
the soil seed bank.

Factors affecting seed availavbility:

A. Organisms must be available in the area (adjacent areas or in soil).
B. Seeds survive for variable lengths of time.
i) transient seeds (1 year or less)
ii) short-term persistent seeds (1-5 years)
iii) long-term persistent seeds (>5 years)

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Soil Seed Bank (SSB):
 Factors affecting seed bank:
1. Seed content of soils
 Range up to 1,000,000 m2 in some grasslands
2. Dynamics
 Rates of input vs loss
3. Life strategies
4. Environment
 Cold areas have lower densities of dormant seeds
 Field longevity experiments (viability)
o Longevity dependent upon species
o Deep planting tends to extend longevity
 Ecological significance
o Evolutionary memory
 Progeny represents extended time-period
o Disease Control methods
 Based on knowledge of species involved
o Erosion control

 All soils contain considerable numbers of viable, but dormant seeds:

temperate pasture, 2-17K seeds m-2; Forest (temperate and
tropical), 0.2 - 8K seeds m-2.
 Highest SSB densities found in disturbed habitats with many pioneers or in
‘arrested’ succession in which pioneer numbers remain
high (e.g. heathlands) as a result of grazing or fire, for
example.
 More persistent seed bank species often penetrate deeper into soil. Deeply
buried seeds are less likely to germinate but exposure
following tree uprooting, for example, can allow them to do
so.
 Having a persistent SSB is a viable strategy for a species only if it can be
dormant long enough to await dormancy-breaking
conditions - vegetation opening.
 How long can seeds remain viable in the soil?
Calluna vulgaris >50 y; Senecio vulgaris >60 y; seeds in (unfired) mexican
adobe bricks 143-200 y; Stellaria media and Ranunculus repens ~600 y;
Lupinus arcticus (in permafrost) 10,000 y; Nelumbo nucifera in Egyptian
tomb >237 y.
 The SSB is thus dispersal in time rather than space and
 we can recognise two broad strategies amongst plants:
 Pioneers and Non-pioneers. Pioneers are high irradiance dependent species
whose suitable environment is often transient; they must move on (dispersal) or
enter the seed bank to survive as they cannot tolerate competition especially for
light, by non-pioneers.
 Establishment

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  Microsite factors affect germination and initial survival.
 Germination: Dormancy may or may not be favoured.
 Selection: More species or individuals arrive than can survive.
 Tolerance: Immigrants will need to be adapted to many different and very
specific conditions

Seed Banks maintained by Human Beings

 There are many in different countries
 Examples are the Millenium Seed Bank (MSB) Launched in 2000, is a large-
scale initiative of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew (RBG Kew). It is an
international collaboration involving a wide range of public and semi-autonomous
seed banks, botanical institutions and universities
 The collected seeds are stored at various temperatures - from room temperature,
refrigerator through to freezer cold, down to an extreme minus 80 degrees
Celsius.
 There are 30 thousand samples of seeds from about thirteen hundred different
species, including some that could have got there by themselves.
 Aims:
1. To collect seeds from existing populations.
2. To collect seeds of endangered populations of plants to be conserved in the seed
bank of endangered plants
3. To propagate some of the seeds in the nursery using different methods of
propagation to obtain optimum results.
4. A common threat to some populations of threatened species is their being over-
aged e.g. Juniperus, a situation that according to literature is widespread in the
world and Europe.
5. So the aim of propagation will not only be to get some original plants for our
collections, but to provide young plants that can be reintroduced in their original
location.

Seed Storage
Optimal Environmental Conditions
1. Temperature
70 - 95 oF
2. Grain Moisture
 12 - 15%
 Temperature monitors
 Insect traps
 Visual inspection
o Residual bin sprays Methoxychlor
o Reldan
o Tempo
 Grain surface treatment by
o Insecto
o Dipel
 Grain protectants

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 o Grain protectants Actellic (corn & sorghum)
o Reldan (cereals, except corn)
 Grain Fumigation
o Fumigants: Aluminum Phosphide , Methyl Bromide