SEED DETERIORATION IN FLOODED AGRICULTURAL FIELDS DURING WINTER

We determined rate of seed deterioration for 3 crops (corn, rice, and soybean) and 8 weeds commonly found in agricultural fields and moist-s oil management units in the Mississippi Alluvial Valley (MAV). The wee ds were broadleaf signalgrass (Brachiaria platyphylla), junglerice bar nyardgrass (Echinochloa colonum), morningglory (Ipomaea sp.), panic gr ass (Panicum sp.), bull paspalum (Paspalum boscianum), red rice (Oryza sativa), hemp sesbania (Sesbania exaltata), and bristlegrass (Setaria sp.). Weed seeds, except morningglory, deteriorated slower than corn and soybean, whereas rice decomposed slower than all weed seeds except red rice and bull paspalum. For land managers desiring to provide pla nt food for wintering waterfowl, rice is clearly the most persistent s mall grain crop in the MAV. Persistence of weed seeds under flooded co nditions throughout winter makes them a cost-effective alternative to traditional crops on land managed for waterfowl.