Open AccessStudies of Dormancy in the Seeds of Subterranean Clover (Trifolium Subterraneum L.)
Author(s) -
Lat Ballard,
AE Grant Lipp
Publication year - 1969
Publication title -
australian journal of biological sciences
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 0004-9417
DOI - 10.1071/bi9690279
Subject(s) - germination , trifolium subterraneum , dormancy , oxygen , carbon dioxide , biology , botany , horticulture , limiting oxygen concentration , anaerobic exercise , agronomy , zoology , chemistry , ecology , physiology , organic chemistry , pasture
When imbibed dormant subterranean clover seeds were exposed to low concentrations of oxygen for up to 6 days, and then transferred to either air or 100% oxygen atmospheres, germination was markedly increased above that of seeds held only in air. Stimulation of germination was similar whether the atmosphere of the second phase was air or 100% oxygen; it was maximal when that of the first phase contained no oxygen, and became insignificant above concentrations in the region of 5% oxygen. The additional germination was roughly proportional to the duration of exposure to low oxygen concentrations, and the effects of two separated exposures to low oxygen were additive. These effects could be produced only in those dormant samples whose seeds or embryos could also be made germinable by exposure to 25% carbon dioxide. At higher temperatures, anaerobic conditions were less effective in breaking dormancy, paralleling the reduced efficacy of carbon dioxide at these temperatures.