Seeds - Structure and Germination

> Fruit - It is the enlarged ripened Ovary, the ovarian wall forming the fruit
wall enclosing the seed. The fruit protects the seed and helps in seed
dispersal. Examples. Mango, pea pod.

> Seed - It is the ripened ovule. It contains embryo which develops into a
new plant. The seed coat protects the embryo from mechanical damage.
Example: Bean seed, peas.

> Grain is actually the fruit in which the fruit-wall and the seed coat are
fused together to form a protective layer.

> MORE ABOUT SEED

- It is a mature ovule after fertilisation.

- It contains a tiny living plant the embryo.

- The embryo remains in an inactive state until exposed to favourable

conditions when it germinates.

- The seed also contains food material for the nourishment of the embryo
during germination. -The embryo can withstand unfavourable conditions
of temperature, drought, etc.

》CLASSIFICATION AND STRUCTURE OF SEEDS

> Types of Seed - Broadly the seeds are of two kinds (i)monocotyledonous

(ii) dicotyledonous.

> Monocotyledonous seeds contain one cotyledon (seed-leaf) e.g. maize,

grasses.

> Dicotyledonous seeds contain two cotyledons e.g. pea, gram, bean.

> Seeds vary in size.

- Some are so small that they are barely visible to the naked eye e.g. poppy
seeds, orchid seeds.
- Some are quite large as in watermelon and pumpkin or even in mango
(the stone).

- Largest seeds are those of coconut and double Coconut.

- The size, shape and structure of seeds of different plants vary

considerably but the basic structure of most seeds is same

> On the basis of endosperm, seeds are classified as -

(i) Albuminous (endospermic) cotyledons - These are thin and

membranous and endosperm persists e.g.

- Dicot albuminous seeds: poppy, custard apple.

- Monocot albuminous seeds: cereals, millets, palm.

(ii) Exalbuminous (non-endospermic) - In such seeds, the cotyledon stores

food and becomes thick and fleshy e.g.

- Dicot exalbuminous seeds - Gram, pea, mango, mustard

- Monocot exalbuminous seeds - Vallisneria, orchids, amorphophallus.

》THE BEAN SEED

- There are a number of different kinds of beans such as broad bean, lima
bean, french bean, etc., but the general structure of their seeds is the
same. Most are kidney-shaped with a convex and a concave side.

> Seed coat consists of the testa the outermost hard brownish covering. It
protects the delicate inner parts of the seed from injury and from the
attack of bacteria, fungi and insects and tegmen is a thin inner layer lying
next to the testa, and this also is protective.

> Hilum - It is a distinct whitish oval scar on the concave side of the seed. It
represents the spot where the ovule (now the seed) was attached to the
ovary wall through placenta. A tiny pore micropyle is situated close to the
hilum. It marks the opening through which the pollen tube had entered the
ovule.

- Micropyle serves two functions:-

(1) When soaked in water the seeds absorb water mainly through this
micropyle and make it available to the embryo for germination.

(2) It provides for the diffusion of respiratory gases for the growing
embryo. Below the seed-coat are two thick cotyledons which contain food
for the embryo and protect it.

- The embryo consists of two parts-the radicle which later forms the root
and the plumule which later forms the shoot. >The plumule consists of a
short stem with a pair of tiny leaves and a growing point between them.

》MAIZE GRAIN

- The maize grain is actually a one seeded fruit in which the fruit wall and
the seed-coat are fused together to form a protective layer. Therefore, we
call such a fruit as grain.

> One part of the grain has a small light oval area where the embryo is
found. The rest of the grain is mostly filled with a starchy endosperm. A
thin epithelial layer separates the endosperm from the embryo.The
outermost layer of the endosperm is rich in protein and is called aleurone
layer.

- The embryo consists of a single cotyledon here called scutellum, a

radicle and a plumule. The radicle is towards the pointed end and it is
enclosed in a protective sheath, the coleorhiza. The plumule is towards the
upper broader side of the embryonic region and is enclosed in a protective
sheath, the coleoptile.

- The maize grain is monocotyledonous and endospermic.

- Some other examples of this type of grain are rice, wheat and oat.

》MAJOR DIFFERENCES BETWEEN BEAN SEED AND MAIZE .

》GERMINATION

- All the changes leading to the formation of a seedling are collectively

called germination. Germination is the process of formation of a seedling
developed from the embryo.

- A dry seed contains a dormant embryo that is inactive but still

undergoing slow chemical activities. When provided with suitable
conditions, the embryo becomes active and grows into a seedling.

- A fresh seed from a plant normally does not germinate even if the
conditions for germination are favourable. It must pass through a period of
dormancy during which it undergoes physiological maturation.

》CONDITIONS NECESSARY FOR GERMINATION

Water, suitable temperature and air (oxygen) are necessary for

germination.

1. Water: The seed obtains water from its environment, i.e. from the soil, in
natural conditions. The water is absorbed all over the surface but mainly
through the micropyle.

- Two main uses of water are:

(i) The seed swells and consequently the seed- coat ruptures allowing the
elongating radicle to come out and form the root system.

(ii) Water is necessary for chemical reaction and for the enzymes to act
upon the food stored in the cotyledons or endosperm so that it may
convert into a diffusable form dissolved and utilized by the growing
embryo.
2. Suitable temperature: Both very low and very high temperatures are
unsuitable for germination. A very low temperature inhibits the growth of
the embryo and a very high temperature destroys its delicate tissues. A
moderately warm temperature (25°C to 35°C) is usually favourable for
germination and it is also called optimum temperature.

> Seeds of tropical plants often need a higher temperature for germination
than those of the temperate regions.

3. Oxygen: During germination there is rapid cell division and cell growth
for which energy is required. This energy is available only by respiration
(oxidation of food) and hence the need for oxygen (or air).

> Seeds sown very deep in soil fail to germinate Two main reasons:

1. No proper supply of oxygen (for respiration)

2. Insufficient pushing force in the embryonic parts (hypocotyl or epicotyl)

to break through the upper layers of soil.

》TYPES OF GERMINATION

- The region of the axis between the point of attachment of cotyledons and
the plumule is called epicotyl.

- The region of the axis below the cotyledons is called hypocotyl.

- Both the epicotyl and hypocotyl of a seed never elongate together during
germination. It is either the epicotyl or the hypocotyl that elongates.

- If the epicotyl elongates, the cotyledons remain underground and the

germination is then called hypogeal e.g. pea and gram. - If the hypocotyl
elongates, the cotyledons are pushed above the ground and this type of
germination is called epigeal (e.g. castor, bean, etc.).

》HYPOGEAL GERMINATION

1. Cotyledons remain underground.

2. Epicotyl elongates.

》EPIGEAL GERMINATION
1. Cotyledons pushed above the ground.

2. Hypocotyl elongates.

》GERMINATION IN SOME COMMON SEEDS

- Pea seed (Hypogeal): The seed absorbs water, expands, and breaks open.
A root grows down, a shoot grows up, and the curved shoot emerges from
the ground. Seed leaves provide nourishment until they die off, staying
below ground during germination.

> Bean seed (Epigeal) - The seed takes in water and expands. The radicle
grows downward to create the root system. The curved hypocotyl grows,
forming an arch/loop above the ground, then straightens to raise the
cotyledons above the ground. This type of germination is called epigeal.
The cotyledons turn into the initial green leaves and eventually drop off
once the foliage leaves develop.

> Maize grain (Hypogeal): The seed absorbs water, expands, and roots grow
downward while new roots grow upward. The protective sheaths cover the
seedling's axis as the cotyledon absorbs food until it is used up.
Germination occurs below the soil surface.

> Viviparous germination - (a special type) - The mangrove plants like

Rhizophora and Sonneratia, show a special mode of seed germination
called vivipary in which seed germinates inside the fruit while it is still
attached to the parent plant. After germination, the plant drops the
seedling into the soil which develops root and fixes itself.

》THE SEEDLING

- Germination in any plant ends with the formation of a seedling.

- Seedling is a stage in the growth of a plant from a seed before it has

become wholly independent of the food stored in it.

- The roots of the seedling absorb water and minerals from the soil. The
leaves start manufacturing food for the young plant which keeps growing
and becomes a mature plant and produces flowers and seeds in its turn.

》POINTS TO REMEMBER
> A dicot seed consists of an embryo with two cotyledons enclosed in a
seed coat.

> The embryo consists of a radicle (small root) and a plumule (small shoot)

> The cotyledons contain the food for the embryo

> A monocot seed such as the maize grain has a single cotyledon, a large
endosperm, a small embryo in which the plumule is small with rolled
plumule leaves.

> Three conditions necessary for the germination of seeds are water,
suitable temperature and oxygen.

> Germination of seeds may be hypogeal (cotyledons remaining

underground) or epigeal (cotyledons carried above the soil)