Oxygen deficiency is commonplace in seeds, and limits both their development and their germination. It is, therefore, of considerable relevance to crop production. While the underlying physiological basis of seed hypoxia has been known for some time, the lack of any experimental means of measuring the global or localized oxygen concentration within the seed has hampered further progress in this...

Ethylene is an important plant gas hormone, and the amino acid Glu is emerging as a messenger molecule in plants. To evaluate the role of ethylene and Glu in seed germination and radicle growth under salt stress, effects of 1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid (ACC), Ethephon and Glu on germination and radicle growth of cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) seeds in the absence and presence of 200 mM ...

The present investigation focused on the effects of plant and seed diffusates of Parthenium hysterophorus L. on seed germination of Raphanus sativus L. Level of glucose in germinating seeds as an indirect measure of amylase activity was estimated. About 91.66% viable seed of Raphanus sativus were treated in different concentrations of rhizospheric soil diffusates (PD) and germinating seed diffu...

Environmental conditions during seed maturation influence germination, but the genetic basis of maternal environmental effects on germination is virtually unknown. Using single and multiple mutants of phytochromes, it is shown here that different phytochromes contributed to germination differently, depending on seed-maturation conditions. Arabidopsis thaliana wild-type seeds that were matured u...

Intense selection for specific seed qualities in winter oilseed rape breeding has had an inadvertent negative influence on seed germination performance. In a panel of 215 diverse winter oilseed rape varieties spanning over 50 years of breeding progress in winter-type rapeseed, we found that low seed erucic acid content and reduced seed glucosinolate content were significantly related with prolo...

The success of seed germination and establishment of a normal seedling are key determinants of plant species propagation. At present, only a few studies have focused on the genetic control of seed germination by using a proteomic approach in Brassica napus. In the present study, the protein expression pattern of seed germination was investigated using differential fluorescence two-dimensional g...

Loss of aquatic plant species has occurred in coastal and freshwater habitats throughout the world. In particular, population and habit loss of the submerged aquatic species, Vallisneria americana Michx., have made it a potential restoration candidate. For successful restoration, reliable seed sources are vital for producing plants or for direct seeding. Seed survival and their ability to retai...

Germination vigor is driven by the ability of the plant embryo, embedded within the seed, to resume its metabolic activity in a coordinated and sequential manner. Studies using "-omics" approaches support the finding that a main contributor of seed germination success is the quality of the messenger RNAs stored during embryo maturation on the mother plant. In addition, proteostasis and DNA inte...

In three field trials fungicides used for stem rust (Puccinia graminis) control were evaluated to assess the effect on levels of blind seed disease, seed germination and endophyte (Neotyphodium lolii) transmission. Blind seed disease infection was reduced from 24% to 5% in one of the three trials undertaken and germination was increased by between 17 and 23% in two trials. There was a negative ...