A Comparative Study of some Methods for Measuring Cell Growth Potentials in Vigna radiata Hypocotyl, in situ and after Excision

Prat, R. 1985. A comparative study of some methods for measuringcell growth potentials in Vigna radiata hypocotyl, in situ andafter excision.—J. exp. Bot. 36: 1150–1158. Accurate estimations of growth rates are required to understandthe development of physiological and biochemical parametersinvolved in growth processes. Growth measurements can be madeeither ‘in situ’ on whole seedlings by marking successivelevels or ‘in vitro’, after excision of successivehypocotyl segments. These different methods have been comparedin order to determine which measurements allow one to assessaccurately the normal growth characteristics. In vitro measurementsperformed with excised segments required a prolonged incubationperiod before stable growth rates were achieved. The growthpotentials of the successive hypocotyl levels remain unchangedafter excision. These in vitro measurements can therefore beused to assess the growth characteristics of cells in hypocotyls. Key words: Vigna radiata, hypocotyl, growth measurements