The Germination of the Seeds of Rhinanthus Crista-galli

The germination of the seeds of Rhinanthus Crista-galli hasbeen induced by exposing them to moisture at 2° C. for periodsof from 17 weeks to over a year, depending on the amount ofdry storage to which the seeds had previously been subjected.Germination could not be brought about by moisture-treatmentat 20° C. During moisture-treatment at 2° C. the respirationrate falls significantly after an initial increase, and thengradually rises, after which germination takes place. Generally,respiration is significantly lower during moisture-treatmentat 20° C. Analyses of the treated seeds suggest that therespiratory substrate might be protein. It was found by paperchromatography that during moisture-treatment at 2° C. thenumber of amino-acids in the alcohol extract first diminishesand then increases, reaching a maximum in the ungerminated seedjust before germination becomes apparent. Differences were detectedin the amino-acids found in the alcohol extracts of seeds treatedat 2° C. compared with those moisture-treated at 20°C. Reasons are given which suggest that the limiting factorin the germination process may be the nature and rate of thehydrolysis of the reserve proteins of the seeds.