LIGHT AND DRY STORAGE INFLUENCES ON THE RESPIRATION OF GERMINATING SEEDS OF FIVE SPECIES.

In an attempt to study the influence of light on early metabolic events in seed germination, the rates of oxygen uptake of germinating seeds of five species were measured in relation to their germination response to light and to their loss of primary dormancy during dry storage. No significant effects of light on oxygen uptake prior to germination (i.e. prior to radicle protrusion) were detected. A difference in the initial rates of oxygen uptake prior to germination was observed when seeds were stored at low (8%) moisture contents suggesting that significant changes in their respiratory capacity occurred under these conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]