FUNDAMENTALS OF
AGRONOMY INCLUDING
WEED SCIENCE
Prepared by: Venus Mae P. Oraye
Instructor
WHAT IS AGRICULTURE?
The art, science and
business or practice of
farming, including
cultivation of the soil for the
growing of crops and the
rearing of animals for man’s
PURPOSE OF AGRICULTURE
Contribution to National Income
Shift of Manpower
Source of Food Supply
Creation of Infrastructure
Pre-Requisite for Raw Material
Relief from Shortage of Capital
Helpful in Phasing out Economic
Depression
Source of Foreign Exchange for the
WHAT IS AGRONOMY?
Agronomy is a branch of agricultural science
that deals with the study of crops and the soils
in which they grow.
It comes from Greek word “agros” means field
and “nomos” means law.
STAGES/AGES OF
AGRICULTURAL
DEVELOPMENT
STAGES/AGES OF AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
PASTORAL STAGE
Huntingand fishing
are the dominant
means for gathering
food.
STAGES/AGES OF AGRICULTURAL DEVELOPMENT
MIDDLE STONE AGE
from 8,000 B.C.
- learned the art of making
a few simple tools like bows
and arrows and primitive
stone implements used for
catching, drying and
storage of fish, stored
seeds, nuts and fruits.
STAGES/AGES OF AGRICULTURAL
DEVELOPMENT
NEW STONE AGE OR
NEOLITHIC AGE
-started between 6,000 to 7,000 B.C.
- Discovery of the relation of seed to
plant
-Domestication of plants and animals
-Villages began to grow and man made
the transition from food collection to
the deliberate raising of crops. They
practice both “seed” agriculture and
“vegeculture”.
SEEDS
SEED
-is an embryonic plant enclosed in a protective outer
covering
-a flowering plant's unit of reproduction,
- the fertilized ripened ovule of a flowering plant
containing an embryo and capable normally of
germination to produce a new plant.
central station and most
important part of a seed.
An outer Within the embryo consist
coverage of all the cells needed to
seed. Seed develop into a mature plant
coats are
used to
protect the provides the embryo of the
internal parts seed with nutrients, usually
of the seed. in the form of starch and
proteins. These nutrients
allow the seed to remain
viable while it waits to be
germinated.
SEED GERMINATION
othe emergence and development from seed
embryo of to produce a new plant.
o a seed is considered germinated when there is
radicle emergence.
oRadicle is the first part of a seedling (a
growing plant embryo) to emerge from the
seed during the process of germination
PROCESSES OR STEPS IN SEED GERMINATION
1. Imbibition or uptake of water
2. Activation of enzymes
3. Hydrolysis (chemical breakdown of
substances by water ) of reserve food
(carbohydrates, protein and lipids)
4. Translocation and metabolism of assimilates
5. Seedling emergence and growth
REQUIREMENT FOR GERMINATION
1. Sufficient water
2. Proper oxygen level
3. Favorable temperature
4. Light (optional)
5. Appropriate medium or substrate
CHARACTERISTICS OF GOOD SEEDS
Matured, healthy and true to type
Pure and free from inert materials and weed seeds
Viable and have good germination capacity
Uniform in texture, structure and look
Pests and disease-free
WHAT IS SEED VIABILITY?
Seed viability is the ability of the seed to
germinate and produce a normal seedling under
favorable conditions.
METHODS OF VIABILITY TESTING
1. Rag Doll Method
Prepare a clean rag.
Prepare at least 50 seeds for testing.
Lay the rag on flat surface and distribute the
seeds evenly.
Roll the rag around the stick to support.
Moisten the cloth and place it in a warm
moist place.
Unroll the rag after 5 days.
Determine the germination rate.
METHODS OF VIABILITY TESTING
2. Seedbox Method
Prepare a small seed box and fill it with soil.
Sow the seeds in in rows in the seed box.
Cover the seeds lightly with soil.
Water occasionally.
When seeds have germinated, determine
percentage germination.
METHODS OF VIABILITY TESTING
3. Flotation Method/Dish Bowl Method
This involves soaking seeds in water before
sowing. Seeds that float (floaters) are
considered nonviable while those that
remain at the bottom may be considered
viable.
DETERMINE THE PERCENTAGE OF GERMINATION
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SEED DORMANCY
a state in which seeds are prevented from
germinating even under environmental
conditions normally favorable for germination.
These conditions are a complex combination of
water, light, temperature, gasses, mechanical
restrictions, seed coats, and hormone structures.
One important function of most seeds is delayed
germination, which allows time for dispersal and
prevents germination of all the seeds at the same
time.
TYPES OF DORMANCY
1. Physical dormancy – the presence of impermeable seed
coat, also called hard seededness
2. Chemical Dormancy – due to presence of inhibitors like
auxin (plant hormone produced in the stem tip that
promotes cell elongation), gibberellin (regulate various
developmental processes, including stem elongation,
germination, dormancy, flowering, flower development
and leaf and fruit senescence), and cytokinin (cell growth
and differentiation, but also affect apical dominance,
axillary bud growth, and leaf senescence).
3. Physiological or endogenous dormancy – prevents
embryo and seed germination.
METHODS/TECHNIQUES OF BREAKING DORMANCY
Artificially, hardseededness may be broken by scarification –
the partial or total removal of seed coat. The following are some
examples of scarification:
Physical scarification – soaking in water (tap, hot or boiling
water) for a specified period of time
Mechanical scarification – piercing, chipping, filing, rubbing
on sand paper, grinding seeds with abrasives or sand
Chemical Scarification – treatment with sulfuric or nitric acid
and organic solvents (alcohol and acetone), use of selective
seed coat enzymes (cellulase and pectinase)
To remove chemical inhibitors, prewashing or leaching
may be done:
Dry storage
Pre-chilling
Pre-heating
Light treatment
Application of chemicals like potassium nitrate (KNO )
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Application of hormones like gibberellic acid (GA ) - a
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naturally occurring plant growth regulator which may cause a
variety of effects including the stimulation of seed
germination.
Stratification
