Responses of Germination to Light and to Far-Red Radiation—Can they be Predicted from Diaspores Size?

Luís Silva Dias,Alexandra Soveral Dias,Elsa Ganhão

doi:10.3390/data5020049

Abstract

This paper presents an update of a dataset of seed volumes previously released online and combines it with published data of the photoblastic response of germination of fruits or seeds (light or dark conditions), and of the effects of enhanced far-red radiation on germination. Some evidence was found to support that germination in larger diaspores might be indifferent to light or dark conditions. Similarly, germination in smaller diaspores might be inhibited by far-red radiation. However, the length, width, thickness, volume, shape, type of diaspore, or relative amplitude of volume is essentially useless to predict photoblastic responses or the effects of far-red radiation on germination of diaspores.

Highlights

[1], a dataset of diaspore volumes was released and described, with volume calculated from length, width, and when available, thickness, abstracted from a variety of sources
Results of Milberg et al heavily relied on positively photoblastic diaspores, the germination of 85% of them being inhibited by dark; only light or dark conditions were tested, and diaspores size expressed by average mass could account only for less than one third of the variation of the photoblastic response of diaspores germination
Some evidence was found on a greater requirement for light to germinate in smaller diaspores, simultaneously with a lesser requirement for light in larger diaspores, which does not translate into an ability of diaspore size to predict their photoblastic response

Summary

Introduction

[1], a dataset of diaspore volumes was released and described, with volume calculated from length, width, and when available, thickness, abstracted from a variety of sources. The adequacy of minimum diaspore volume as a surrogate for size in studies of functional and ecological correlation of diaspores size was investigated using data published by Milberg et al [2] (hereafter referred to as Milberg et al.) on the relationship between light requirement for germination and diaspores size. The present work constitutes a follow up to their investigation on size correlation of germination responses to light. It combines data available in the dataset mentioned above with data published by Górski et al [3,4,5] (hereafter referred to as Górski et al.) which still is, to our knowledge, the most extensive survey of photoblastic responses and of effects of far-red radiation on diaspore germination [6]

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Discussion

Conclusion