Quality and storage characteristics of the seeds of important native pasture species in South-West Queensland

Abstract

Seeds of native plants can be difficult to germinate reliably. In addition, the useful life of a carefully harvested seed lot needs to be known. This paper reports on the laboratory germination over eight years of seed of 27 native pasture species hand-harvested near Charleville after the 1972-73 summer and stored in a laboratory without special conditions. The legumes had prolonged hard-seededness and high viability. Forb species varied in their degree of hard-seededness and the level of initial dormancy, Most perennial grasses produced high quality seed which attained best germination between one and three years after harvest. The Andropogoneae had much poorer seed fill than most other species. Laboratory germination of annual and small seeded grasses was often low, even after scarification. Thus, the use of freshly harvested or old, untested seed of native rangeland species in - research programmes is very unwise.