Causes of Seed Dormancy

The main causes or reasons for seed dormancy are as follows:

  • Temperature
  • Light
  • Period after ripening
  • Hard seed coat
  • Presence of high-concentrate solutes
  • Impermeability of seed coat to water
  • Impermeability of seed coat to oxygen
  • Immaturity of the seed embryo
  • Mechanically resistant seed coat
  • Germination of inhibitors

Seed Dormancy

Growth is an increase in the size or weight of a cell, organ, or organism. An increment in size can occur without growth as absorption of water by a flaccid cell. In a similar manner, during the germination of a seed, there is an actual fall of dry weight though the size and fresh weight increase. So, growth is explained as a permanent or irreversible increase in dry weight, mass, or volume of a cell, size, organ, or organism. Plant growth occurs in three Phases – formative, enlargement, and differentiation. The formative phase has also termed the phase of cell formation or cell division or meristematic phase. The enlargement phase is also known as the phase of cell elongation and the differentiation phase is also known as the phase of maturation.

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Seed Dormancy

Seed dormancy can be explained as the state in which seeds are stopped from germinating even under favorable conditions like temperature, water, light, gas, seed coats, and other mechanical restrictions. The major reason behind this condition is that they need a period of rest before being capable of germination. These conditions may range from days to months and even years. These conditions are the merger of light, water, heat, gases, seed coats, and hormone structures....

Types of Seed Dormancy

The following are the types of seed dormancy:...

Causes of Seed Dormancy

The main causes or reasons for seed dormancy are as follows:...

Methods of Breaking Seed Dormancy

The different methods of breaking seed dormancy are as follows:...

Treatment to Break Dormancy in Seeds

Some of the different treatments to defeat dormancy are further divisible into the following groups:...

Importance of Seed Dormancy

Seed dormancy permits the seeds to continue to be in suspended animation without any harm during cold or high summer temperatures and even under drought conditions. It is known to be the natural process of preservation. It is helpful in the dispersion of seeds through unfavorable environments. It helps in the storage of seeds for later use by animals or man. Dormancy induced by the inhibitors present in the seed coats is highly advantageous to desert plants....

Role of Hormones in Seed Dormancy

Abscisic acid (ABA) is the only plant hormone known for the maintenance of seed dormancy, it acts through a gene expression network including the transcription factor Abscisic Acid Insensitive 3 (ABI3). However, other phytohormone pathways in retort to internal and environmental signals stays an important question. The plant growth hormone auxin, which acts as a versatile cause in several developmental processes, also plays a crucial role in seed dormancy in Arabidopsis. Moreover, seed dormancy and germination are controlled by numerous other plant hormones, such as gibberellin, ethylene, and brassinosteroid. GA provokes seed germination whereas, the involvement of ABA is in the establishment and maintenance of seed dormancy. Cytokinin assists cotyledon greening by repressing the inhibitory effect of ABA....

FAQs on Seed Dormancy

Question 1: What do you mean by seed dormancy?...