CONCEPT OF PHASE OF CHANGE IN PLANT LIFE CYCLES

Plants when are raised from seeds, they undergo two principle phases in their life cycle.

1. Vegetative phase-which involves vegetative growth as production of leaves, shoots and

branches

2. Reproductive phase/mature phase- involves the formation of flowers and maturation of

fruits and seeds.

Variation do occur in these cycles involving e.g the length of the cycle and the pattern of
the growth.

Plant growth particularly with regard to propagation, we distinguish between sexual and
asexual cycles which can be illustrated as follows;

Juvenile phase-the plant is growing vegetative and when in this state, the plant will not be
induced into flowering even if u provides conducive environmental conditions.

In between juvenile phase, we have a short transition phase in which the plant enters adult
phase where there is production of seeds, flowers fruits and the cycle is repeated. E.g.
annual and biennial crops are where sexual cycle is common.

In case of perennial crops, the sexual cycle is propagated by seedlings, the juvenile phase
tends to take a very long time and depending on crop some may take 6-20years before
flowering. In those plants, the usual sexual cycle can be shortened through vegetative
means of production where one uses vegetative materials e.g. use of cuttings, grafting e.t.c..
During grafting/budding, the materials for production can be obtained from the different
phases either from juvenile phase, transition phase and adult phase. After getting materials,
you can maintain them vegetative or go through the cycle and produce flowers and fruits
which may enter the sexual cycle.

Seed in relation to sexual cycle

Seeds perpetuate (propagate) the plant from one generation to another.

A seed as a tool/organ for plant propagation. The seed used for propagation should be of high
quality and quality of seed is manifested by a number of characteristics

1. Genetic purity of a particular seed for production purpose. The seed should be true to
species/cultivar. Genetic purity can be maintained through various ways
(a). Ensure proper isolation distance during the production of seeds in the field.
The isolation distances would depend on the mode of pollination of a particular
cultivar. In general for crops that are self-pollinated, the isolation distance is fairly short
e.g. in tomato (self-pollinated, the isolation distance is 60m between plots or blocks).
In case of cross pollinated, the isolation distance for production block will be higher
e.g. in case of carrots, the minimum distance from one block to another should not be
less than 1000m.

(b). Roguing- during the multiplication process, any off-type plant should be removed
and removal of off types plants must be done before the plants have flowered to ensure
that plants do not contribute to pollination and fertilization process altering purity of
plant.

(c). seed certification process- during production of seeds, there are minimum
standard that have to be adhered to and certification process focuses at least 3 different
stages

i. acquisition of seed. The source of seed must be certified.

ii. field inspection has to be followed to ensure that production is according to the
recommended practices e.g. you have to ensure proper isolation distance, inspect and
ensure no off types and after the seeds have been harvested, they are subjected to
various seed analyzing stage.

ii. The purity of seed has to be to the recommended level e.g. when one gets a seed lot
and seed lot is sorted out to pure seed, separate other crops seeds, weed seeds and any
inert matter (broken seeds, chaff) and the express the % by weight. For most of seeds,
% purity should not be less than 98%. These procedures are normally implemented by
seed certification officers.
 (d) Controlled pollination systems

The method of maintaining purity is important in the production of hybrid seeds and
the principle involved here is to ensure that pollen grain from the seed bearing cultivar
does not contribute to pollination and fertilization process i.e. control pollen introduced
to female plant,

The controlled pollination systems may be achieved through

i. The plant characteristics e.g. in monoecious plants, remove stamen before they
release pollen grains to control pollination. Monoecious characteristics are
utilized when producing hybrids of cucumber, maize

ii. In case of dioecious plants- plants that are male plant and female plants are
separate. This happens where we have a male sterile plant and in the case of
male sterility, the pollen is non-functional and this prevents self-pollination.
The functional pollen is then introduced from desired cultivars. In cases where
the plants may not be naturally male sterile, chemicals may be sprayed on the
plant to induce the sterility and then would introduce the desired pollen

iii. In cases where the plants exhibit self-incompatibility (both male and female
flowers are functional but they are incompatible i.e. self-fertilization cannot be
accomplished and self-pollination is thus prevented and the seed producer has
the choice of introducing pollen from desired cultivar.

2. Health of the seed.

As much as possible, good quality seed should be disease free for various reasons

(i) Some pathogens may be seed borne and when seed is planted, the pathogen
continue to give progressive disease development when the crop is in the field
which will reduce the value and quality of the crop

(ii) When the seeds are infected and taken to a new area/region, it will result in the
introduction of a new disease which were non-existence.
 (iii) The diseased seeds have poor seed germination and the field establishment is also
very poor.

The disease free seeds can be ensured in various ways--Certification during production in field i.e.
seeds should not be obtained from diseased plant. After harvesting, disease incidences can be
avoided by seed treatment/seed dressing using pesticides. Also hard coated seeds can also be
treated by use of hot water.

3. The viability of the seed is also another important characteristic. Viability of seed
refers to the ability of a seed to germinate under favourable conditions. The non-viability
of seed is different from dormancy- the seed is unable to germinate even under favourable
conditions until some requirements have been met.

The viability of seed will vary from species to species. In some species, seeds will remain viable
for only a few months e.g. in mangoes and citrus. They lose viability if stored for more than 6
months and even during this period, the storage conditions will determine their life. Other seeds
have long period of viability e.g. onion seeds which stored under dry conditions, can retain viability
up to 22 years, melons, 30 years.

The viability of the seeds is affected by several factors.

a. Mechanical injuries that may be inflicted on the seed especially during harvesting or
threshing process. The seed may become mechanically injured hence not able to retain
their viability.

b. Environmental conditions in the field. Conditions in which seeds are produced. If plant
undergoes stress e.g. water stress, nutrition deficiency, the viability of the resultant seed is
lowered. E.g. the deficiency of Ca in the field lowers viability in pepper and carrots.

c. Storage conditions also affects viability e.g. moisture content of seed during storage.
Seeds of different species show different responses on their viability depending on the
moisture content. Based on moisture content tolerance, seeds are put into 2 categories;
 (i). recalcitrant seed-require relatively high moisture content during storage and if dried
below a certain minimum, they rapidly lose their viability. The recalcitrant seeds are
sensitive to desiccation and are short lived e.g. citrus

(ii) Orthodox seed- can be stored at very low moisture content and these have been found
to be desiccation tolerant and have long viability period e.g. onion.

Temperature conditions during storage in general for most seeds, they will retain their
viability for long periods when stored under low temp conditions.

d. Cultivar/species- there is a genetically controlled mechanism in determining life of a

particular seed. During the storage period, the viability may be reduced due to genetic
changes in seeds that may result to loss of viability. There is also biochemical changes’
e.g. denaturing of proteins decreases viability of seed.

How to determine viability of seed

1. Conduct a germination test of a sample of seed.-you obtain a sample of seeds and place
them under optimum conditions of light, temp and moisture. As the roots and shoots
emerge determine the % of normal seedlings. The seed germination procedure is done in
flowers, vegetables and grains.

2. Excised embryo test- here the embryo is isolated from the seed and germinated on its own.
When it is isolated and placed under favorable conditions of growth, it will show some
activities like expansion of cotyledons, development of chlorophyll indicating the embryo
is viable. For non viable seeds, the embryo turns brown and decay- used in tree seeds, fruit
crops where seeds tend to exhibit period of dormancy and dormancy may be related to
factors on seed coat.

3. Biochemical method/tetrazolium test-in this procedure, a chemical 2,3,5 triphenyl

tetrazolium chloride is used to determine the viability of the seed. This chemical when
dissolved in water, it produces a colourless solution but when brought into contact with
respiring tissues, it changes colour into red. The procedure for testing viability of seeds is
where a 1% solution of the chemical is prepared and seeds that one needs to test are made
to imbibe water which will activate them and start their physiological, biochemical process.
 The seeds are soaked in solution and stored in darkness about 300 C depending on the
species, the solution will turn red either after a few hours or days. The seeds that are non-
viable, the solution will remain clear.

4. Floatation method- non viable seeds floats in water while the viable ones after imbibing
water will sink.

5. Physical observation of seeds especially big seeds by cutting and open them and check
whether embryo has been attacked e.g. mango seed may be infested by a mango weevil.

SEED DORMANCY

Different plant species exhibit tremendous differences in the way development process
occur from the zygote to the embryo to maturation of seed and germination to seedling. In
some species, these processes occur in a continuous version i.e. embryo will grow and
mature and seed will germinate even if attached to the plant e.g. viviparous plant-cocoa,
mangrove. In other species, seeds may not necessary germinate when attached to the plant
and after detached from plant, they will germinate if conditions are favorable e.g. beans,
peas.

The seeds may exhibit a dormant period after being harvested during which no germination
even if provided with favorable growth conditions e.g. in most of temperate tree crops. In
the seeds that exhibit dormancy, the dormancy maybe caused by one or more factors e.g.

1. The nature of the seed coat- some seeds possess a hard seed coat which may offer
mechanical resistant to the growth of the embryo or emergence of primule/radical. The
hard seed coat may be impermeable to water and oxygen hence embryo not supplied
with growth conditions. In such seeds, the dormancy may be broken physically-to
remove seed coat or slightly cut to facilitate imbibition. They may be softened
chemically e.g. use of ethanol, acids like sulphuric acids and the process of softening
seed coat termed as scarification process either chemically or physically through
scratching of seed with sand paper.
2. The state of the embryo-

There are 2 conditions that make them enter the dormancy.

a. Embryo may be immature at the time of harvesting of seeds. Such embryos have to
undergo further development in post-harvest stage and these seeds require after
ripening period to complete their maturation process

b. The embryos are mature but have a requirement for a chilling conditions before
germination especially seeds of temperate regions trees where decrease in temp
requirement is more of adaptive mechanism to enable the seeds to survive the low
temp that prevail during winter season.

To control this dormancy, seeds may be stratified where they are soaked in water
and stored under low temp 50C for about 3 months and upon removal on those
conditions, the chilling would have been met and they will be able to germinate.

3. Sensitivity to light

It varies among species. In some species upon exposure to light, dormancy is released
and germination enhanced. Such seeds are referred to as positively photoblastic e.g.
lettuce. Others are negatively photoblastic and exposure to light makes them to enter
into dormant state and inhibits germination e.g onions, amaranthus.

The response to light also varies in the development stage of the seed whereby the
majority of seeds may have a requirement for light when freshly harvested but this
requirement decrease with storage time. In light sensitive seeds, they will only respond
to light after they have imbibed the water.

4. The role of temperature

Some seeds have a requirement for low temp or will need to be stratified before their
dormancy is overcome. Other seeds may require high temp to relieve dormancy and
germinate.

5. Presence of chemicals within the seeds

 In general, seeds will remain dormant when they have a high level of growth inhibitors
e.g. ABA. As the dormancy is overcome, the level of inhibitors decrease and the level
of growth promoters increase. The main growth promoters are gibberellins. Chemical
treatment e.g. soaking of seeds in gibberellins can replace the requirement for cold
treatment and requirement for exposure to light.

The process of seed germination

Germination is the process of reactivation of metabolic machinery of the seed resulting

in the emergence of radical and plumule.

Types of germination

1. Epigeal germination- hypocotyls elongates and raises the cotyledons above the
soil e.g. beans, onions.

2. Hypogeal germination-the cotyledons remains below the ground and it is the

epicotyls that emerges in the ground e.g. maize, mango

Germination depends on seed viability. If any dormancy that should have been
broken and there must be appropriate environmental conditions.

The role of environmental factors in germination of seed

1. Water – during the activation stage of seeds, the seeds must imbibe water and imbibition
of water will result in activation of the enzyme and there is softening of the seed coat

2. Temperature

It affects the germination percentage and rate of emergence of the seeds. The minimum
and maximum temp required for germination varies among species.

3. The aeration of germination media is also important because germinating seeds require
oxygen for respiration of embryos. The exchange of gases will be affected by the nature of
seed coat and soil conditions.

4. Light
Carrot lettuce, celery germination is promoted by exposure to light. The response of light sensitive
seeds will decrease with storage time and before the seeds can respond, need to be imbibed with
water.

5. The infestation of seeds by micro-organisms, if the embryos are damaged by pathogens

or insect pest reduces their germination hence seeds need to be treated prior to storage.

6. Storage period.- affects the viability of the seed. Some seeds can retain their viability for only
a short period e.g. citrus (6months). Others can remain viable for many years e.g. onion.

The germination in the field and subsequent performance of the resultant crop can be
enhanced through various

(a). through vernalisation process- this is whereby the plants are subjected to cold temp so as to
promote the flower initiation by the plant. It is found that in the plants that sufficiently vernalised,
the subject germination and performance of seed is enhanced.

(b). the size of the seed-the large and heavier seeds from seed sample tend to germinate faster and
establishment in the field is faster. It is important to sort out the seed of same size to ensure
uniformity.

(c). drought hardening- (hydroisations)-the seeds are subjected to two or more cycles of wetting
and drying. Dry seeds are made to imbibe water then dried slowly then imbibe water again and
allow them slowly to dry out after which they are imbibed and planted. This has been shown to
increase yields in vegetable crops e.g. beet root and carrots.

(d). chemical stimulants- can be used to enhance germination and subsequent performance e.g.
soaking tomatoes seeds in potassium nitrate accelerates early growth of seedling. Also treating of
lettuce seeds in Thiourea has been shown to replace requirement for light and accelerates
germination and growth. The treatment of plants during the seed ripening stage has been to
influence subsequent seed performance e.g. spraying the crop with chemical that increases protein
content improves the performance of seed in the next year e.g. use of simazine.

MANAGEMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS FOR CROP PRODUCTION

These are factors that a grower can control to maximize production. There are 4 main factors
 1. Management of soil

2. Management of moisture level

3. Management of temperature

4. Management of light.

Every environmental factor plays a specific role, both on its own as well as in interaction with
other factors. Each crop has its own set of climatic conditions at which it will produce optimally.
It is therefore important to know these requirements and to ensure your environment is suited to
the proposed crop. If one does not adhere to the climatic requirements of the crop, it can increase
the input costs and often lead to establishment failure.

In certain cases the grower may also be interested to manage atmosphere for the purpose of
increasing production. The management of atmosphere such as carbon dioxide is practical when
considering cultivation especially in temperate during winter when temp decrease. If grower has
to produce crops in winter, he has to do green houses to provide the heat needed. To retain heat,
the green house must remain closed hence no sufficient ventilation hence reduces level of carbon
dioxide hence reduced photosynthesis. The grower have then to introduce carbon dioxide
artificially in the green house through a process of carbon dioxide enrichment hence increase the
photosynthesis of plant.

MANAGEMENT OF SOIL

Soil support plant and serve as a source of plant nutrients, water and oxygen. Soil support is not
important since we have soiless media which support plant life like hydroponics. Only what one
needs is to ensure sufficient nutrients, aeration and water. In the soil management, one aspect one
should aim at is maintenance of soil fertility i.e. nutrients supplying capacity of the soil. The
fertility of soil depend on

1. The amount of nutrients in the soil.

2. The availability of these nutrients to the plant which depends on soil pH. At certain pH
some minerals may be in too high concentration hence become toxic to plant.
 Once one cultivates the soil nutrients are depleted due to uptake by crops. If one has to
maintain the fertility of soil, one has to consider his cultivation, types of crops to grow
(crop rotation), use of fertilizers to replenish soil fertility which optimizes the plant
response for maximum productivity.

We need to conserve the soil. Losses can occur through erosion and the extent of erosion is
depended on the topography, climate of an area (heavy rainfall greater losses and also the nature
of the soil; some friable (easily washed away). In cultivation practices, one has to adopt those
practices which will protect the soil such as use of cover crops, terraces, contour planting.

MANAGEMENT OF WATER

In crop production, we need adequate supply of water for good plant growth. Depending on crop
species, the responses to water deficit/excess varies to some plant, period of water stress may have
beneficial effect e.g. induction of flower development e.g.in citrus and mango.

Sufficient moisture is required when plants are in active growth e.g. growth of young fruits. When
water is excess, for some crops, you must ensure good soil drainage because waterlogged
conditions is detrimental e.g. papaya dies in waterlogged soils, avocado in waterlogged soils, there
is development of root rot. Crops like paddy rice are able to thrive under waterlogged conditions.

MANAGEMENT OF TEMPERATURE

Under low temp conditions, the responses may be negative e.g. the rate of growth will be slow. In
very severe cold conditions, we may have frost injury hence buds die thus plant die. However, low
temp have positive effect e.g. some species will require low temp to break dormancy and resume
growth. High temp tend to be detrimental to plant growth e.g. drying up of plants, the fruits get
sun scald, abortion of some of the flowers, pistils in some plants may abort which affects fruit
productivity e.g. in papaya where high temperature cause sex reversal.

From management point of view depending on crop species, temp management may be

1. Selection of site-some plants require low temp for bolting and plant them in high
altitude areas where there is low temp
 2. In other cases, one can be able to manipulate temp through shading, mulching,
evaporative cooling (during very hot weather, wet the foliage of plant through
sprinkle irrigation and as water evaporates gets away latent heat of vaporization
hence cooling effect.

MANAGEMENT OF LIGHT IN CROP PRODUCTION

Light manipulation is an important factor in propagation, plant growth, and flowering. Some seeds
like those of most field crops germinate better if not exposed to light. Others seeds like those from
grasses and some lettuce cultivars will not germinate in the absence of light. Some cuttings root
better after being kept in the dark (etiolating), while green leaves on cuttings produce hormones
that stimulate rooting.

There are two sources of light solar radiation (the sun) and artificial lighting.

Artificial light sources include

1. Incandescent light bulbs (an electric light with a wire filament heated until it glows) with
reflectors have traditionally been used to create artificial long days. INC light has a broad
range of wavelengths but is low in blue light, emits large amounts of heat and are energy
inefficient.
2. Compact fluorescent lights are more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs, have blue
and red light but are low in far-red (FR) light which is required for flowering of some LD
crops.
3. Tube type fluorescent lamps are large in relation to their output and are most often used
in growth chambers and in multiple tier applications since their cool operating temperatures
allow them to be mounted in close proximity to plant surfaces. Tube fluorescent lamps are
available in a range of spectral qualities.
4. High-intensity discharge (HID) lamps (metal halide and high pressure sodium) are
primarily used as supplemental light to increase the rate of photosynthesis, such as for
daylength extension during short winter days or supplemental light during very overcast
days.
5. Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) (a semiconductor light source that emits light when current
flows through it), is emerging technology for greenhouse lighting. LEDs have a long
 lifespan, are energy efficient and the spectrum of light emitted can be adjusted. The LED
replacement for INC bulbs are more expensive than INC or CFL bulbs, but they last longer
and are more energy efficient. Currently there are LEDs commercially available that are
successfully being used in photoperiodic lighting for some crops.
Light length

Photoperiodism is the response in growth, transpiration, photosynthesis, and reproduction

(flowering) of a plant to the specific duration of light, which falls on it per day.

On the basis of day-length required by the plants for flowering, the plants are classified into the
following three categories:

(i) Short-day Plants (SDP): Some plants produce flowers when exposed to a light period
shorter than a required day-length. These are called Short-day Plants. Chrysanthemum,
Cosmos, Dahlia, Soyabean, are short-day plants.
Shortening the daylength (artificial SD).

Plants are covered with an opaque material that reduces the light intensity. To be effective, the
light intensity must be decreased to less than 2 ft-c under the material

Types of materials can be used to cover plants:

a) Black sateen cloth is a jet black woven cloth made from cotton or a cotton/polyester
blend
b) Polyolefin sheeting is a woven material that is tear-resistant and waterproof.
c) 4-6 mil black plastic can be used but is not tear-resistant
(ii) Long-day Plants (LDP): They produce flowers when exposed to a light period longer than a
fixed day-length. Gulmohar, radish, spinach, are long-day plants.

Artificial light is used to lengthen the day using any of the following:

• Incandescent light bulbs (INC) have traditionally been used to create artificial long days.
INC light has a broad range of wavelengths but is low in blue light, and the highest light coming
from the red spectrum.
• Compact fluorescent lights are more energy efficient than incandescent bulbs, have blue
and red light.

• High-intensity discharge (HID) lamps (metal halide and high pressure sodium) are
primarily used as supplemental light to increase the rate of photosynthesis, such as for daylength
extension during short winter days or supplemental light during very overcast days:

• Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) is emerging technology for greenhouse lighting.

(iii) Day-neutral Plants (DNP): In these plants flowering is not affected by length of light period
i.e. they produce flower in almost all photoperiods. Cucumber, Tomato, and Sunflower, are day-
neutral plants.