Interspecific and intraspecific differences in seed germination response to different temperatures of three Echinochloa rice weeds: A case study with 327 populations

Abstract Echinochloa crus-galli var. crus-galli (L.) P. Beauv. (EC), Echinochloa crus-galli var. mitis (Pursh) Petermann (ECM), and Echinochloa glabrescens Munro ex Hook. f. (EG) are all serious rice ( Oryza sativa L.) weeds, which are usually treated as a single species in weed management practices. To determine interspecific and intraspecific differences in seed germination responding to different temperatures among the three Echinochloa weeds, we conducted field surveys and collected 66 EC, 141 ECM, and 120 EG populations from rice fields of East China in 2022; and tested their seed germination under 28/15C (day/night), 30/20C, and 35/25C regimes, simulating temperatures of rice planting periods for double-cropping early rice, single-cropping rice, and double-cropping late rice, respectively. In EC, ECM, and EG, seed percentage germination (cumulative percent of germinated seed) and germination index (sum of the ratio of germinated seeds to the corresponding days) increased with increasing temperatures. At 28/15C, the average percentage germination of EC populations (67.5%) was significantly ( P < 0.05) higher than ECM (46.4%) and EG (43.7%); GD 50 (duration for 50% total germination) for EC populations (5.2 d) was significantly shorter than ECM (5.9 d) and EG (5.8 d). At 35/25C, the percentage germination of EC (90.7%), ECM (80.5%), and EG (80.3%) were all significantly the highest among the three temperature treatments, respectively, and the GD 50 values for EC (2.5 d), ECM (2.6 d), and EG (2.7 d) were all significantly the lowest. At 30/20C and 35/25C, average germination percentage of populations collected from transplanted rice fields were significantly higher than that of populations collected from direct-seeded rice fields. Moreover, among EG populations, the longitudes and latitudes of collection locations were significantly correlated with seed percentage germination and germination indices. According to the interspecific differences and intraspecific variations of Echinochloa species, weed management strategies should also be customized according to the species and population characteristics in seed germination.