Responses of Fabaceae seed lots to controlled ageing tests

Abstract

The controlled ageing test (CAT) seeks to inform the persistence of weed seeds using a short-term laboratory test. In the CAT, seed lots are exposed to an ageing environment of 45 oC and 60% humidity for up to 203 days. The main output is the point at which relative germinability drops to 50% of the germinability prior to ageing (P50 value). Data can be compared to other sources such as long-term burial studies or used to categorise the potential longevity of weeds without longer term data sources. Seed of 12 weeds from the Fabaceae family have been assessed once or twice in the CAT environment. There was variation within and between genera of Fabaceae, with the laboratory test suggesting 11 of the 12 weeds are more likely to form a persistent seed bank, greater than 3 years.