Physico-chemical Factors Influence Beet (Beta vulgaris L.) Seed Germination

摘要

Uniformity in harvest maturity and product size of vegetable crops is directly related to uniformity of seedling emergence. Therefore, germination synchrony is the first essential step to achieve uniform plant growth and development (Taylor, 1997). Table beet (Beta vulgaris L.) does not germinate uniformly, and factors responsible for this lack of uniformity are the focus of this investigation. A table beet seed is botanically a fruit that is generically termed a 'seed-ball' (Hayward, 1938), since most cultivars are multi-germed. The seedball is a tightly compressed assemblage of one to several fruits, each containing one seed with an embryo. Conventional varieties most commonly have two embryos in each seedball, while some propagules may contain three or four embryos. An X-ray image is illustrated with four embryos oriented in different planes (Fig. 47.1). Sugarbeet (also Beta vulgaris L.) and certain table beet varieties are monogerm but factors that influence germination rate are similar for both table and sugarbeets.