© 1990 Heron Publishing—Victoria, Canada
Abscisic acid and the regulation of embryo dormancy in the genus Acer
N. J. Pinfield, P. A. Stutchbury, S. A. Bazaid and V. E. E. Gwarazimba
Department of Botany, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1UG, UK / Received May 18, 1989
Summary
Germination of Acer pseudoplatanus L. and Acer platanoides L. seeds was increased by moist storage of the intact fruits (seed + pericarp) at 5 °C, but not at 17 °C. In both species,
germinative capacity of isolated embryos (seeds with testa removed) was increased by moist storage of fruits at either 5 or
17 °C. Thus dormancy loss by intact seeds and excised embryos was not necessarily correlated. Loss of dormancy in isolated
embryos was associated with a reduction in free abscisic acid (ABA) content. Embryos from freshly harvested fruits of A. pseudoplatanus had a higher germinative capacity and a lower free ABA content than embryos from freshly harvested fruits of A. platanoides. Morever, germinative capacity increased, and free ABA content decreased, more rapidly with length of fruit storage in A. platanoides embryos than in A. pseudoplatanus embryos.
