Growth hormones and their relationship to seed dormancy in Quercus

Northern red oak (Q. rubra L.) seeds were dormant and required 10 weeks of moist, cold stratification before a large percentage of the seeds would germinate. White oak (Q. alba L.) seeds were not dormant and germinated immediately upon falling from the mother tree. A transfer of mass from the cotyledons to the embryos occurred during germination of red and white oak seeds. No detectable transfer of mass occurred during stratification of the red oak seeds. The longer the red oak seeds were kept under stratification conditions, the shorter the period of time required for seeds at 26°C to begin germination. A significant decrease in GA-like activity occurred during the first 5 weeks of stratification of red oak seeds. No transfer of activity from one pH-dependent ethyl acetate-soluble fraction to another occurred. A slight increase in GA-like activity occurred between 5 'and 7-1/2 weeks of stratification. Red oak seeds stratified for 18 weeks contained significantly more GA-like activity than those receiving lesser periods of stratification. When l8-week stratified red oak seeds were warmed to 26°C, germination commenced within 2 days and the levels of GA-like activity decreased. White oak seeds contained substantially less GA-like activity than red oak seeds and amounts of activity in white oak seeds changed little during cold storage of the seeds. Radicle extension growth of white oak seeds began even at 5°C and complete seed germination began within 2 days of warming to 26°C, independent of the time in cold storage. Cytokinin activity was measured in the ethyl acetate and n-butanol fractions of red oak seeds. Concentrations did not change between 0 and 5 weeks of stratification.

Name thesis:degree_name

Ph. D.

Level thesis:degree_level

doctoral

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Forestry and Forest Products

Department dc:contributor.department

Forestry and Forest Products

Grantor dc:publisher

Virginia Tech

Year dc:date.issued

1977

Author dc:creator

• Dury, Carl George

Chair dc:contributor.committeechair

• Adams, Robert E.

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Feret, Peter P.
• Aung, Louis Htin
• Hale, Maynard G.
• Barnett, Lewis B.
• Vasey, Richard B.

• oak trees

Statement dc:rights

• In Copyright

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

en

Dc Identifier Other

etd-07152010-020322

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/38810