Modifications of management ways on cultivated fields entail changes in the species and quantitative composition of segetal flora. The occurrence of such species as Descurainia sophia and Bromus secalinus in crop canopies is one of those effects of changes effect. First, germination ability of their diaspores depending on the age, depth in the soil and light conditions was studied.
The study was carried out at the Department of General Plant Cultivation and Farming, at ambient temperature (about 20°C). Germination ability of flaxweed was examined in 2000–2002, that of rye brome – in two series: autumn and spring. 2006–2007. One part of sown diaspores was placed under natural light (with no additional light); the other was hermetically covered with aluminum foil.
Age and depth of seeds in the soil was another experimental factor. Studies revealed that flaxweed and rye brome seeds germinated both in natural light and in darkness. Germination ability of both species significantly depended on their sowing depth. Descurainia sophia and Bromus secalinus germinated best when diaspores were placed on the soil surface (0.0 cm). In the case of flaxweed, the age of seeds (1–3 years) stored in the soil only slightly affected their germination, while 18-years-old kernels of rye brome did not germinate.