Role of Red Light, Temperature, Stratification and Nitrogen in Breaking Seed Dormancy of Chenopodium album L.

Seed dormancy behavior of weed seeds is a critical determinant of their survival rates in a given cropping system as it helps the weeds to evade herbicides and other weeding practices. We investigated the effects of red light, alternating temperature, stratification duration and different doses of nitrogen containing compounds alone or in combination with red light on breaking seed dormancy of Chenopodium album L. The application of red light(80 ${\mu}mols^{-1}m^{-2}$) significantly increased seed germination of C. album in all treatments. Germination rates of 12 h incubated seeds were highest under 20 min of red light irradiation than 1 min, 5 min and 10 min treated seeds. Germination rate was significantly higher at alternating temperatures of $25^{\circ}C\;and\;5^{\circ}C$ for 12 h each with an irradiation of red light(80 ${\mu}mols^{-1}m^{-2}$) for 10 min than other treatments. Stratification period of 15 days significantly stimulated germination percentage of seeds incubated in dark, although 5 days of stratification along with red light application for 10 minutes exhibit similar effects on seeds. Seed germination was also enhanced by nitrogen containing compounds like $NaNO_2,\;KNO_3,\;NH_4Cl\;and\;NH_4NO_3$. We observed that seed germination increased significantly with 25 mM $KNO_3$ and 10 mM $NH_4NO_3$ in dark condition, while $NaNO_2$ and $NH_4Cl$ enhanced seed germination under red light irradiation. It was concluded that red light alone or synergized with alternating temperatures, stratification and nitrogen compounds, especially nitrite and ammonium enhanced seed germination of C. album. Thus, the red light can play a vital role in present and future weed management strategies.