Thesis (PhD (Agric.) -- Stellenbosch University, 1984. / INTRODUCTION: The study of seed dormancy and germination has for centuries occupied the minds of agronomists, physiologists, brewers,
bakers and, more recently, weed scientists. The agronomist
requires that the seed that he sows will germinate rapidly
and uniformly and produce a vigorous healthy seedling .. The
physiologist is interested in the understanding of the basic
processes involved at the molecular level, and the geneticist
in the inheritance of the quiescent character of the
seed. Brewers seek a seed that will retain its viability
at least until the following crop is harvested but which
will also, on imbibition, rapidly set in motion those processes
that will convert starch into sugar. The baker is
concerned with the baking quality of the seed and, as far
as he is concerned~ the more dormant the seed the better,
as this eliminates the problem of pre-harvest sprouting
which is very detrimental to baking quality. The weed
scientist seeks to encourage all weed seeds present in the
soil to germinate simultaneously so as to enable him to
destroy the weed population with one application of herbicide
or a single cultivation.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:sun/oai:scholar.sun.ac.za:10019.1/68464 |
| Date | 08 1900 |
| Creators | Cairns, Andrew Lawrence Patrick |
| Contributors | De Villiers, O. T., Stellenbosch University. Faculty of AgricSciences. Dept. of Agronomy. |
| Publisher | Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | vii, 173 p. : ill. |
| Rights | Stellenbosch University |
Page generated in 0.0024 seconds