Effects of Some Environmental Factors on Seed Germination and Spreading Potentials of Silybum marianum Gaertner

Silybum marianum Gaertner is spreading in many crops of Southern Italy, particularly in durum wheat, sugar beet and some vegetable crops. Information about its biology are useful to set up effective control strategies. Four experiments were carried out at the Crop Science Department of the University of Bari (Southern Italy). Two trials were conducted in Petri dishes and evaluated the effects of different light, temperature and osmotic stress conditions on the seed germination. Another trial evaluated the ability of seedlings to emerge from different depths. The effects of eight different sowing periods on the plant growth were assessed in the fourth experiment. The highest germination rate was found with constant temperatures of 25 °C or 30 °C and with alternating temperatures of 25- 15 °C for 8 and 16 hours respectively. Germination was affected by the light and was significantly decreased at 0.2 Mpa and completely inhibited at -0.8 Mpa. Plant emergence was strongly reduced from a depth of more than 3 cm. The plant size at the first bloom was reduced by postponing the sowing period from October to February. The same decreasing trend was observed in the number of flower heads and in the number of days required for the first bloom. Results can suggest some important strategies to manage this species. False sowing, followed by irrigation, can be recommended in summer, in order to obtain the highest seed germination. Since the emergence of this plant is very scarce from a depth of more than 3 cm, ploughing can be effective to bury seeds in case of strong disseminations in order to reduce the infestation in the following crop.