| 1. Hard-coated seeds of legumes, and seeds of Delphinium, I pomoea, lettuce, mustard, okra, sweet marjoram, and snapdragon can be forced to more rapid germination by being blown against needle points. 2. For two varieties of lettuce it is shown that the seed improves in viability as it grows older, up to the end of at least the fourth year. This improvement is probably due to increased permeability of the inner seed coat to water. 3. Cold storage in wet sand increased the germination seeds of Pinus Strobus by 32 per cent, of Cupressus macrocarpa by 31 per cent. Delayed germination of conifer seeds, more especially those of Pinus Strobus and P. austriaca, seems to be due to lack of water intake, and not to an alkaline or neutral reaction of the embryo. This statement is supported by the fact that seeds injected with distilled water gave better germination than those merely soaked in water or in weak acid at the temperature of melting ice. Any kind of soaking or injection gave 13-38 per cent better germination than was obtained with the controls. 4. Certain samples of frosted oats improve in germinating power as they grow older, others deteriorate. 5. Certain late varieties of western-grown garden peas germinate poorly. This is shown to be due to one or both of two causes: (a) actual frost injury to the embryo; (b) the presence of fungi on or in the seed coat or inside of it. 6. Seeds of 51.4 per cent of all species and varieties examined showed fungi on the seed coat within two days after being put to germinate. |
A Study of Delayed(file pdf, 1.731 KB)
