afterripening

afterripening

botany
also called  Dormancy,  

      complex enzymatic and biochemical process that certain plant embryos must undergo before they will germinate. It results at least in part from rapid and extensive water loss because of the conversion of soluble nutrients to their stored forms. This interruption of growth, or the lack of it in the seeds of many tropical plants, may be an adaptation to seasonal and climatic changes. Afterripening provides for germination at the most favourable time, when conditions of moisture, temperature, and day length are most conducive to plant growth. Many cereals and grasses require afterripening, which prevents them from germinating in the ear under moist conditions. See also germination.

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Universalium. 2010.

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  • afterripening — | ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷| ̷ ̷( ̷ ̷) ̷ ̷ noun : a complex enzymatic process occurring in seeds, bulbs, tubers, and fruits after harvesting and often necessary for subsequent germination or palatable consumption …   Useful english dictionary

  • seed and fruit — ▪ plant reproductive part Introduction       respectively, the characteristic reproductive (reproductive system, plant) body of both angiosperms (flowering plants) and gymnosperms (conifers, cycads, and ginkgos) and the ovary that encloses it.… …   Universalium

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  • afterripen — | ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷| ̷ ̷ ̷ ̷ verb Etymology: after (I) + ripen intransitive verb : to undergo afterripening transitive verb : to subject to afterripening …   Useful english dictionary

  • germination — See germinate. * * * Sprouting of a seed, spore, or other reproductive body, usually after a period of dormancy. Absorption of water, passage of time, chilling, warming, oxygen availability, and light exposure may all operate in initiating the… …   Universalium

  • plant development — Introduction       a multiphasic process in which two distinct forms succeed each other in alternating generations. One form, created by the union of sexual cells (gametes (gamete)), contains two sets of similar chromosomes (diploid). At sexual… …   Universalium

  • reproductive system, plant — Introduction       any of the systems, sexual or asexual, by which plants reproduce. In plants, as in animals, the end result of reproduction is the continuation of a given species, and the ability to reproduce is, therefore, rather conservative …   Universalium

  • af|ter|rip|en|ing — «AF tuhr RY puh nihng, AHF », noun. the further development of seeds or fruits by enzymatic action after harvesting or picking: »Other seeds will only begin to germinate after a certain period from harvesting has elapsed, this being generally… …   Useful english dictionary

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