SPROUTING OF GRAIN

Press, Volume LXXII, Issue 21714, 22 February 1936, Page 14

SPROUTING OF GRAIN

CAUSES OF UNTIMELY GERMINATION CARBON DISSOLVED BY RAIN In giving an explanation yesterday of the cause of the sprouting of the wheat • crops, both in the fields and while in stook, Mr R. Nairn recalled: the losses oh the Peninsula some years earlier, of the cocksfoot crops, which ■ ripen in the early part of January, and of the later ripening crops of oats and' wheat on the plains. In many cases the sprouting was so fuliy advanced that the heads of grain were full of growth some inches in length. In many cases seeds were fully capable of perfect germination long before they arrived at a perfect state of ripeness and maturity which was necessary to ensure their keeping qualities. If seeds gathered in their early state were sown as soon as the embryo was formed they would germinate much more quickly than .the perfectly ripened, seed. The reason was that these seeds contained less carbon, and what there was had a much softer character than those seeds in a perfectly hardened and ripened state. The more carbon a seed contained, other things being equal, the longer the seed was in germinating. This was because the seed had to get rid of a large portion of the stored up carbon before it could start growing, or, in other words, after nature had stored up enough carbon to ensure its. keeping qualities this carbon had to be chemically dissolved before the vitality cf the embryo could develop. Thus seeds of many plants would germinate much more quickly before they were fully ripe. The effect of the warm Tain was to break down the. carbon with its ammonia content, thus stimulating the embryo and bringing about the sprouting. i Rain, however, was not the only factor which caused the untimely , sprouting, of the grain. Electrical disturbances also influenced to some extent the seeds germinating long before they were due. .