Essay on Germination of Cress Seeds

Words: 3453
Pages: 14

Background point 1:

There are several conditions that affect the germination of seeds. Most factors are external but there are also some internal conditions that affect the germination of seeds, even though this is quite rare. The most common and the most important external conditions and factors that affect the germination of seeds are oxygen, water, temperature and also in some cases light or darkness. Some plants require several variables for successful seed germination. As this is quite rare, this often depends on the individual seed and its natural habit.

Let’s focus on the most important factors that affect germination of seeds.

Firstly we have oxygen which is required by the seed that is germinating for metabolism. The
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This is because light and water find it much harder to penetrate to the embryo located inside. The embryo needs, as you probably know, oxygen and water to survive. There are some seed coats that have to be damaged before germination can take place. This enables water to enter and also leading to the embryo to respire. Although, this will not affect our experiment as we are using the same kind of seeds.

Under the seed coat is the location where the endosperm lies. The endosperm’s job is to provide food to the area where the embryo is located. The nutrients that come from the provided food are needed to keep the seed viable during dormancy. Upon germination and during initial growth, this job is then taken over by the cotyledon.

The embryo is a very significant part of the seed and it consists of three main parts. These three parts are known as the embryonic leaves, the cotyledon and of course the main root of the plant. Another name for the embryonic root is radicle and this is more commonly used than embryonic root. Thanks to main root, vital water absorption can take place into the embryo in order to initiate germination and growth. In order to increase the vital process of water absorption from the soil, the main root will be joined by small secondary roots as time passes by and as the plant grows.

The primary leaves of the young but growing plant are the embryonic leaves. These leaves absorb the nutrients located inside the