Question

role of water in seed germination

Answer 1

Germination is the process by which a seed begins its development into a mature plant. It has many stages.

• An increase in the metabolic activity within the seed begins the germination.
• Due to intake of water from the environment an enlargement of the seed is visible.
• The seed's covering may wrinkle and crack.
• The embryonic root (radicle) emerges from the seed and begins to grow down into the soil.
• The shoot (plumule) also emerges and grows upward out of the soil.
• In some plants, the growth of the shoot carries the cotyledons above the soil into the sunlight. In other species the cotyledons remain underground.

Sufficient water, oxygen, and an appropriate temperature are the suitable environmental conditions for germination. While dormant, seeds will not germinate even under favorable conditions. Dormancy serves to give seeds a better chance of surviving unfavorable conditions and developing successfully into plants.