The Effect of Some Promoters and Inhibitors on the Light Controlled Germination of Strawberry Seeds; Fragaria vesca semperflorens Ehr.

Seed of Fragaria vesca semperflorens Ehr. fails to germinate if kept in continuous darkness after sowing, but responds to short periods of exposure (5 to 10 min) of low intensity red light. Sensitivity increases with increasing time between sowing and light treatment. The promotive effect of light was inhibited by coumarin, but the inhibitory effects of low levels of coumarin could be removed by increasing the quantity of red light given. Thio‐urea induced a percentage of seeds to germinate in the dark, but the effect could not be correlated with the light effect. Seven gibberellins were tested at concentrations between 1 and 50 nig/1. A 4 showed very high activity fully replacing the light requirement at 10 mg/l, but none of the others did so.