SEED WEIGHT, INTRASPECIFIC COMPETITION, AND PLANT PERFORMANCE IN ABUTILON-THEOPHRASTI

Seed weight of Abutilon theophrasti Medic. varies among populations an d with the light conditions of the parent plants. In this study, the i mpacts of seed weight variation on seed germination and plant growth w ere investigated. Variations in seed weight did not result in any sign ificant difference in the germination ability of seeds. The enhanced g ermination associated with large seeds produced by plants in shaded co nditions found in previous studies were more likely the result of inte rpopulational variation or difference in maternal environments. The le af chlorophyll content of young seedlings and the total leaf area of p lants at harvest tended to increase with increasing original seed weig ht of the plants. Although the aboveground biomass of a plant was not affected by its original seed weight, the performance of the plant dep ended significantly on the total original seed weight of the neighbour ing plants.