Effects of the Environment of the Mother Plant on Germination by Control of Seed-Coat Permeabilit to Water in Ononis Sioula Guss.

Abstract

The time course of imbibition in seeds of Cnoni8 aicula Guss. was more rapid when the mothllr plants,were grown in 8·hr days (short-day seeds) than in 20-hr days (long-day seeds), outdoors as well as in a greenhouse. Once imbibed, seeds invariably germinated within 48 hr. Desiccated seeds from all these treatments entirely failed to imbibe, but when scarified they all imbibed and germinated fully within 48 hr. The level of seed-coat impermeability to water increased somewhat after storage for 2 years without changing the qualitative effects of day length. Differences in kinetics of imbibition due to outdoors v. greenhouse conditions were observed in long-day seeds only when freshly harvested, and in short-day seeds after storage for 2 years.