Title: Temperature effects on imbibition, germination and respiration of grain sorghum seeds
Abstract: Seeds of grain sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) were used to assess effects of imbibitional temperatures on germination, radicle length, emergence, and development of respiratory activity. Germination in soil after 6 days at 25, 20 and 15°C was about 90%. Seeds at 10°C for the first 24 hours, and then at 25°C (10/25°C) also germinated about 90%. However, seeds held continuously at 10°C absorbed sufficient moisture, but failed to germinate within 5 days. Rates of germination and radicle elongation increased when temperature increased from 15 to 25°C. Radicle elongation was slower and emergence was later for seedlings at 10/25°C than that for seeds imbibed and grown throughout at 25°C. In contrast to radicle elongation at 10/25°C was intermediate between that at 15 and 20°C, percentage emergence at 10/25°C was intermediate between 20 and 25°C. These results suggested that radicle growth was more sensitive to imbibitional chilling than was growth of the coleoptile and epicotyl. Respiration rates during imbibition at 10 and 6°C were low, and increased slowly in a linear manner over time as seeds imbibed water. Respiration rates at the higher inbibitional temperatures were progressively higher, and increased in a curvilinear manner as water was imbibed. Seeds at 31% moisture had respiration rates of 186, 83, 57, 22, and 10 μl O2 h−1 g−1 for the 25, 20, 15, 10, and 6°C treatments, respectively. Although seeds imbibed water at 6 and 10°C reaching the moisture content necessary for germination, they did not germinate.
Publication Year: 1984
Publication Date: 1984-01-01
Language: en
Type: article
Indexed In: ['crossref']
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Cited By Count: 7
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