title: The effect of periphyton on seed germination and seedling growth of rice (Oryza sativa) in paddy area.
abstract: Periphyton is widely distributed in paddy fields and its interactions with paddy soil and rice growth have been reported rarely. In this study, model paddy ecosystems with different additional soil substrates were simulated under controlled conditions to investigate the effects of periphyton on rice seed germination and seedling growth. Results show that the selected soil substrates had significant effects on the metabolic activities and growth of periphyton in paddy fields. The addition of straw to soil enhances but the addition of biochar leads to attenuation of periphyton growth. The presence of periphyton in the paddy system, especially with straw in soil greatly increased the germination index of rice seed (by maximally 21%). However, the biochar treatment in the presence of periphyton was detrimental for the seed vitality with a decrease of 30%. As a result, the periphyton cover on paddy soil surface significantly inhibited the growth of rice seedling, including rice height, leaf width and biomass. To summarize, this study indicates that the presence of periphyton during seed germination period was detrimental for rice growth, but could be used to control the weed growth. Thus, this study provided insight into understanding the periphyton-plant relationships with different soil-substrates and also new approaches to controlling weeds in paddy fields by regulating the growth of periphyton.
authors: State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 71 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China; Institute of Agro-Biotechnology, Jiangsu Academy of Agriculture Sciences, 50 Zhongling Road, Nanjing 210014, China.
authors: Haiying
authors: H
authors: Lu
authors: State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 71 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China.
authors: Junzhuo
authors: J
authors: Liu
authors: School of Biomedical Sciences, Charles Sturt University, Boorooma St, Wagga Wagga, NSW 2678, Australia.
authors: Philip G
authors: PG
authors: Kerr
authors: Institute of Agro-Biotechnology, Jiangsu Academy of Agriculture Sciences, 50 Zhongling Road, Nanjing 210014, China. Electronic address: shaohongbochu@126.com.
authors: Hongbo
authors: H
authors: Shao
authors: State Key Laboratory of Soil and Sustainable Agriculture, Institute of Soil Science, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 71 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China. Electronic address: yhwu@issas.ac.cn.
authors: Yonghong
authors: Y
authors: Wu
mesh_terms: D002606:Charcoal; D018525:Germination; D012275:Oryza / Q000254:growth & development*; D000074284:Periphyton; D036226:Seedlings / Q000254:growth & development; D012639:Seeds; D012987:Soil / Q000737:chemistry
chemical_list: D012987:Soil; C540010:biochar; D002606:Charcoal
keywords: Biochar; Periphyton; Rice seed germination; Rice seedling growth; Straw