Germination

Germination is the sprouting of a seedling from a seed. The plant can then grow from an embryo into a full developed plant.

there are certain factors that affect germination: water, temperature, and oxygen.

water: is neccesary for germination. The seed will take in water, imbibition, until it swells and breaks the seed coat. This leads to the seedling forming a primary root and being able to take in more water. Imbibition also leads to the activation of an enzyme that breaks down the stored food reserves into useful chemicals. When a seed becomes a seedling it has used all of the food reserves and moves onto photosynthesis for energy.

temperature: affects how quickly a plant will germinate. There is typically a certain range at which plants will germinate, and they won't germinate above or below this range.

oxygen: is the primary source of energy until leaves are grown. A seed can find oxygen in the soil through cellular respiration. The oxygen is found in soil pore spaces that can be filled with too much water, therefore taking oxygen away from the seed and forcing it into dormancy.


the picture is bebe bean seedling coming up from the ground.