A Technique for Determining Quantitative Expressions of Dormancy in Seeds

A method of quantifying the heterogeneity of dormancy withinseed populations is described. The method compares germinationresponses of unstratified and stratified seeds of Pinus taedaL. (loblolly pine). Mathematical functions were fitted to cumulativegermination curves of unstratified and stratified seeds andfunctions were integrated to determine areas beneath respectivecurves. The area between respective curves was calculated bydifference and was considered to be a measure of dormancy withinseed lots. The method may be used to help identify various controlsof seed dormancy. seed germination, stratification, germination curves, Pinus taeda, loblolly pine, dormancy