Influence of Moisture, pH, Depth of Burial and Submerged Conditions on Seed Germination and Seedling Emergence of Major Weed Species in Coconut Plantations of Sri Lanka

The laboratory and green house studies evaluated the effect of three different environmental factors on the seed germination, seedling emergence and survival of four major weed species in coconut plantations, Mimosa pudica, Ureana lobata, Panicum maximum and Pennisetum polystachyon. Germination percentage of all the weed species was significantly reduced with increasing soil moisture stress, no germination was observed at -0.9 MPa. Germination of both grass seeds ranged from 8% to 25% and 10% to 45% as moisture stress decreased from -0.4 MPa to 0 MPa, respectively. In contrast, seeds of M. pudica, and U. lobata were moderately tolerant to soil moisture stress and best adapted to moist environment. All the weed species seeds germinated over a wide range of soil pH values with the highest germination occurring at pH 6. In all the species, seedling emergence was declined rapidly with increasing depth with the exception of U. lobata. Seedling emergence significantly declined when the duration of flooding was three days or longer in dicotyledonous weed species and two days or longer in monocotyledonous weeds. This study illustrates the adaptability of these weeds to different environmental conditions which would enable the development of management strategies to reduce their populations below economic threshold levels in coconut plantations.