INFLUENCE OF TEMPERATURE ON GERMINATION OF JAPANESE BROME SEED

Japanese brome (Bromus japonicus Thunb,), an introduced annual grass, is now common in some northern mixed-prairie communities, This species has the potential to alter both the seasonality of standing crop and forage quality, We sought to gain a greater understanding of Japanese brome seed germination by subjecting seed to a series of 55 constant o r alternating temperature regimes following 3 to 9 months of dry labor atory storage, Cold and moderate temperature regimes provided optimum germination conditions (defined as not lower than the maximum observed minus one-half its confidence interval at the 0.05 level of probabili ty), Extremely cold or warm temperatures suppressed germination, Germi nation of afterripened seed over a wide range of temperature combinati ons, many of which occur during fall in the Northern Great Plains, sho uld enhance establishment and perpetuation of Japanese brome on rangel ands.