Most trees from temperate climates require the accumulation of winter chill and subsequent heat during their dormant phase to resume growth and initiate flowering in the following spring. Global warming could reduce chill and hence hamper the cultivation of high-chill species such as cherries. Yet determining chilling and heat requirements requires large-scale controlled-forcing experiments, an...

Tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) plants, which normally do not accumulate glycinebetaine (GB), are susceptible to chilling stress. Exposure to temperatures below 10 degrees C causes various injuries and greatly decreases fruit set in most cultivars. We have transformed tomato (cv. Moneymaker) with a chloroplast-targeted codA gene of Arthrobacter globiformis, which encodes choline oxidase ...

Reproductive meristems and embryos display dormancy mechanisms in specialized structures named respectively buds and seeds that arrest the growth of perennial plants until environmental conditions are optimal for survival. Dormancy shows common physiological features in buds and seeds. A genotype-specific period of chilling is usually required to release dormancy by molecular mechanisms that ar...

Chilling stress during germination often causes severe injury. In the present study, maize seed germination and shoot growth under chilling stress were negatively correlated with the dose of tebuconazole in an exponential manner as predicted by the model Y = A + B × e(-x/k). Microencapsulation was an effective means of eliminating potential phytotoxic risk. The gibberellins (GAs) contents were ...

this study was performed to investigate the effect of different levels of irrigation water applied in tape drip irrigation on yield, seed yield components, oil yield, seed oil percent, and seed water use efficiency (wue) of two canola varieties in behbahan agriculture research station in 2009 and 2010 seasons. the experiment was performed in split plots as a randomized complete block design wit...

Seed’s dormancy is considered as one of the effective factors in seeds germination and consequently in the growth of seeds of many plant species. Shortening the dormancy period and enhancing the germination percentage in fruit types could be a valuable strategy for the seed researchers and plant nurseries. In this research the seeds of mature fruits of different almond cultivars including late-...

Wild oat has two seeds in a spikelet that they have different physiological behavior in regard of  seed germiantion. The upper seed of spikelet is smaller and has deeper dormancy than the lower seed. The range of temperature for germination is  5˚C  to  25 ˚C  and optimal temperature is 15˚C. Both kinds of seeds showed the more  germination rate in low temperatures so that 5 and 10˚C are better...

Dehydrins (DHNs, LEA D-11) are plant proteins present during environmental stresses associated with dehydration or low temperatures and during seed maturation. Functions of DHNs have not yet been defined. Earlier, we hypothesized that a approximately 35-kDa DHN and membrane properties that reduce electrolyte leakage from seeds confer chilling tolerance during seedling emergence of cowpea (Vigna...

Environmental signals are important triggers in the life-cycle transitions and play a crucial role in the life-history evolution. Yet very little is known about the leading ecological factors contributing to the variations of life-history traits in perennial plants. This paper explores both the causes and consequences for the evolution of life-history traits (i.e., seed dormancy and size) in lo...