Seed dormancy and weed emergence: From simulating environmental change to understanding trait plasticity, adaptive evolution, and population fitness

Abstract

Predicting weed emergence in crop production systems is a global challenge that requires understanding mechanisms of weed ecology and trait evolution in response to climate change and altered agricultural practices. Seed dormancy is a highly adaptive trait that controls this by defining the environmental conditions in which the seed is able to germinate (Finch-Savage and Leubner-Metzger, 2006). Weed soil seed bank persistence and the timing of seedling emergence depend on dormancy (Baskin and Baskin, 2006; Walck et al., 2011; Batlla et al., 2020). Integrating mechanisms of seed dormancy dynamics in variable field environments and across generations with population-based models and realistic ecophysiological simulations (Fernández Farnocchia et al., 2021) are essential for more sustainable weed management strategies.