Seed germination is the first critical step of the plant life cycle and the foundation of agricultural production. In contrast, seed dormancy prevents seedling emergence in a wrong season or place in wild species. In cereal crops, the lack of dormancy results in pre-harvest sprouting (PHS) under particular conditions of humidity and temperature, which triggers reserve mobilization, mainly starch degradation by α-amylase (Bewley et al., 2013), and reduces grain quality. Annual losses from PHS are likely to approach $1 billion U.S. dollars worldwide (Black et al., 2006).
Details
Title
Editorial: Seed dormancy, germination, and Pre-harvest sprouting
Authors/Creators
H. Nonogaki (Author/Creator) - Oregon State University
J.M. Barrero (Author/Creator) - Agriculture and Food