Formation of Embryo Starch During Germination as an Indicator of Viability and Vigor in Heat-Damaged Barley.

In their classic study of the enzymes involved in the mobilization of stored carbohydrate reserves in barley, Brown and Morris (3), in 1890, noted that the excised barley embryo formed a large quantity of starch when floated on water for a few hours. More recently investigators (2, 4, 5) working with excised barley embryos appear to have ignored or neglected this important biochemical transformation. In this investigation the formation of starch in excised embryos during germination has been studied as a criterion of barley viabilitv and of seedling vigor. Grains of barley were damaged by heating to obtain samples differing in viability and vigor.