Write a Note on "Seed Dormancy"

 The word dormant mean sleeping, resting or inactiveness. Seed dormancy the seed have low metabolic rate and are not growing and developing. Seed dormancy increases the chances that seed will germinate when conditions are favourable.

1. Seed of desert plants germinate only after heavy rain, in this case heavy rain breaks dormancy. If seed grows after light rain then seeding may be killed by dryness.
2. Where natural fires are common, many seeds require intense heat to break dormancy. So after fire seed germinate.
3. Some seeds require cold period to break dormancy. If seeds are sown during the spring and fall, they will not germinate in winter but they will germinate in spring.
4. Some seeds require light for germinate.
5. Some seeds have tough coat, which become weak by chemical attack when they pass through digestive tract of animals. So these seeds cover some distance before germinating.

      The seeds dormancy protect seed from unfavourable conditions, the seed remain variable for germination in different time, in some cases for decades and in some cases for years. These seeds will germinate when conditions become favourable.

Posted in: Botany