Temperature Regulation of Germination in Crimson Clover Seeds

Seeds of Dixie crimson clover (Trifolium incarnatum cv. Dixie) completed germination in 36 hours at 20 C. At 10 C germination was delayed by 24 hours. At 30 C only 20% germinated and the rest remained viable for a long time but not germinable. Different patterns of adenylate energy state and zymograms of acid phosphatase and esterase were observed from seeds grown under the three temperatures for 24 hours. Varied specific activities of protease, alpha-amylase, ATPase, RNase, acid phosphatase, glutamine synthetase, and fumarase were also found. Protein-synthesizing ability was proportional to temperature. These data indicate that temperature regulates seed germination at multiple sites.