Influence of Nutrient Availability on the Reproduction and Offspring Growth in Vicia grandiflora

Experiments were conducted to study the impact of nutrient availability on reproductive output and maternal effects. In plants grown under higher nutrient conditions, the reproductive biomass, the number of pods per plant, the number of seeds per plant and the total seed biomass were greater. Germination percentage was greater in large seeds, but small seeds germinated earlier than large ones. Mean total content of nitrogen increased with increasing seed size and was higher in high nutrient treatment. A correlation analysis of plants of the two nutrient treatments showed that seed number per pod was negatively correlated with pod number per plant with no correlation between mean seed mass per plant and the total number of seeds produced per plant. Nutrient levels significantly affected ischolar_main/shoot ratio which decreased as nitrogen supply increased. This study showed that Vicia grandiflora reproduction and offspring competitiveness can strongly influence fertilization regimes used in different agronomic crops and rotations.