Seed germination is a fundamental process, involving series of biochemical changes that lead to the development of a new plant. This study assessed the germination performance of two native perennial decreaser grass species, Cenchrus ciliaris L. and Schmidtia pappophoroides Steud., under controlled laboratory conditions. A completely randomised design was used to evaluate the germination performance of 500 florets per species, divided into five replicates per species incubated at 25 ± 2 °C under a controlled 12 h light dark photoperiod. Germination was monitored over 27 days, and eight germination metrics were evaluated that include first day of germination (T₀), median germination time (T₅₀), mean germination time (MGT), and day of last germination (<InlineEquation ID="IEq1"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">\(\:{\text{T}}_{\text{g}}\)</EquationSource> </InlineEquation>), time spread (TS), peak germination percentage (PGP), synchrony index (Z), and final germination percentage (FGP). The results showed that C. ciliaris germinated earlier (T₀ = 3.0 days) and completed germination earlier (<InlineEquation ID="IEq2"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">\(\:{\text{T}}_{\text{g}}\)</EquationSource> </InlineEquation> = 15.4 days) than S. pappophoroides (T₀ = 3.4 days; <InlineEquation ID="IEq3"> <EquationSource Format="TEX">\(\:{\text{T}}_{\text{g}}\)</EquationSource> </InlineEquation> = 21.0 days). Similarly, the time spread observed in C. ciliaris (TS = 12.40) was relatively shorter in comparison to S. pappophoroides (TS = 17.60 days). Peak germination percentage was correspondingly higher in C. ciliaris (8.20%) than in S. pappophoroides (6.00%). However, germination synchrony was comparable (p > 0.123) between species, C. ciliaris (0.16) and S. pappophoroides (0.14). Final germination percentage differed significantly, with C. ciliaris achieving 31.40%, compared to 22.40% in S. pappophoroides. Overall, the findings revealed that differences in germination performance exist between the two species. Although several metrics did not differ significantly, C. ciliaris consistently achieved a higher final germination percentage and faster completion of germination. However, further evaluation under field conditions is recommended to validate laboratory performance within the degraded Kalahari ecosystems.

Comparative germination performance of Cenchrus ciliaris and Schmidtia pappophoroides under controlled laboratory conditions

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2026年5月26日

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Hiskia Athingo,
Johnfisher Mupangwa,
Absalom Kahumba,
Vonai Charamba,
Simon Angombe

摘要

Seed germination is a fundamental process, involving series of biochemical changes that lead to the development of a new plant. This study assessed the germination performance of two native perennial decreaser grass species, Cenchrus ciliaris L. and Schmidtia pappophoroides Steud., under controlled laboratory conditions. A completely randomised design was used to evaluate the germination performance of 500 florets per species, divided into five replicates per species incubated at 25 ± 2 °C under a controlled 12 h light dark photoperiod. Germination was monitored over 27 days, and eight germination metrics were evaluated that include first day of germination (T₀), median germination time (T₅₀), mean germination time (MGT), and day of last germination ( \(\:{\text{T}}_{\text{g}}\) ), time spread (TS), peak germination percentage (PGP), synchrony index (Z), and final germination percentage (FGP). The results showed that C. ciliaris germinated earlier (T₀ = 3.0 days) and completed germination earlier ( \(\:{\text{T}}_{\text{g}}\) = 15.4 days) than S. pappophoroides (T₀ = 3.4 days; \(\:{\text{T}}_{\text{g}}\) = 21.0 days). Similarly, the time spread observed in C. ciliaris (TS = 12.40) was relatively shorter in comparison to S. pappophoroides (TS = 17.60 days). Peak germination percentage was correspondingly higher in C. ciliaris (8.20%) than in S. pappophoroides (6.00%). However, germination synchrony was comparable (p > 0.123) between species, C. ciliaris (0.16) and S. pappophoroides (0.14). Final germination percentage differed significantly, with C. ciliaris achieving 31.40%, compared to 22.40% in S. pappophoroides. Overall, the findings revealed that differences in germination performance exist between the two species. Although several metrics did not differ significantly, C. ciliaris consistently achieved a higher final germination percentage and faster completion of germination. However, further evaluation under field conditions is recommended to validate laboratory performance within the degraded Kalahari ecosystems.