Ceratocarpus arenarius is one of the problematic and noxious weeds in dryland farming of wheat, barley, lentil and peas in North Khorasan. Laboratory experiments were conducted on germination and seedling emergence of ceratocarpus. Germination ability of this weed species was similar in light/dark and continuous dark conditions, therefore seeds of this weed species are non-photoblastic. Seeds germinated over 80% in the range of alternating day/night temperatures (20/10, 25/15 and 30/20C) and the maximum germinability (96%) was observed at 25/15C. Seed of this weed species retained their germination ability until high salinity levels and even at 800 mM NaCl 20% of seeds germinated. Seeds of this weed species could tolerate high level of drought stress, so that 25% of seeds germinated at osmotic potential of -1 MPa. Seedlings could emerge from a range of burial depths from 0 (without covering with filter paper) to 8 cm and maximum emergence (94%) was observed in seeds planted on the soil surface covered with 3 layers of filter paper.
