Influence of seed quality on seedling growth of white clover (Trifolium repens L.)

The influence of seed quality on seedling growth of white clover cv Makibashiro plants was examined in a controlled environment. The average dry matter (DM) yield of 70-day-old seedlings from a poor-quality seed lot was significantly less than that from a high-quality seed lot. In both seed lots, a linear relationship between the DM yield and time from sowing was observed. The slope of regression of DM yield against time from sowing for the poor-quality seed lot was less than the equivalent slope of the high-quality seed lot, suggesting that possible avenues for increased DM accumulation in a high-quality seed lot are somewhat indirect (time of emergence, uniform emergence etc.); a direct effect of seed quality on the photosynthetic ability of plant tissue seems less likely to occur. The root: shoot ratios declined in both groups of plants with increasing age. Seedlings from the high-quality seed lot reached a stable root:shoot ratio (equilibrium state) much earlier than those from the poor quality seed lot. The seed quality had no influence on the proportion of DM partitioned to various organs. The results of this study are discussed in relation to field establishment.