Germination

Germination is the process by which an organism grows from a seed or similar structure. The term is applied to the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm, the growth of a sporeling from a spore, such as the spores of fungi, ferns, bacteria, and the growth of the pollen tube from the pollen grain of a seed plant.

Overview

Germination can also refer to other forms of carbohydrate conversion by enzymatic or bacterial action, such as the sprouting of fermented beans or grains. The most common example of germination is the sprouting of a seedling from a seed of an angiosperm or gymnosperm. In a more general sense, germination can imply anything expanding into greater being from a small existence or germ, a method that is commonly used by many plants including wheat, barley, tulips and many other species of plant.

Process

The process of seed germination includes the reactivation of the metabolic pathways that lead to growth and the emergence of the radicle or seed root and plumule or shoot. The seed of a vascular plant is a small package produced in a fruit or cone after the union of male and female reproductive cells. All fully developed seeds contain an embryo and, in most plant species some store of food reserves, wrapped in a seed coat. Some plants produce varying numbers of seeds that lack embryos; these are known as empty seeds and never germinate.

Factors affecting germination

Various factors affect the germination of seeds. The most important external factors include temperature, water, oxygen and sometimes light or darkness. Various plants require different variables for successful seed germination. Often this depends on the individual seed variety and is closely linked to the ecological conditions of a plant's natural habitat. For some seeds, their future germination response is affected by environmental conditions during seed formation; most often these responses are types of seed dormancy.

See also

• Seed dormancy
• Plant reproduction
• Fermentation
• Angiosperms
• Gymnosperms

Germination Resources
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