Utilization of Reserves in Germinating Phaseolus Seeds

Abstract

the grain of barley and the nonendospermous seed of Phascolits have much in common, in a physiological sense. Thus, each contains a rather large store of reserve materials including starch, soluble carbohydrates and protein and in each powerful hydrolytic enzymes can be detected once germinationi is well under way. The object of the present study was to investigate 2 aspects of the germination and seedling growth of Phaseoluis to see whether they coniformed to the pattern of events already established for barley. In 1946 Brown (2, 3) observed that the embryo in barley did not increase in dry weight or nlitrogeni content in the early stages of germination. blut only later and rather abruptly somiie 48 to 56 hours after setting the grainis to germiiniate at 220:; hile Barnell ( 1 ) came to the colnclusioni that over the first 159 hours, twice as muclh of the dry weiglht translocated fromi the eindlospermii of barley to the embryo was used in growth as in respirationi. Experiments were set up to determinie whether the reserve materials were used in a similar fashioni ini Phaseolus where they are stored in the cotyledonis and translocated during germination from them to tbe root-shoot axis.