The Effect of Some Seed Characteristics on 2,6‐dichlorobenzonitrile Toxicity

Summary Seeds of thirty‐five species of plants were germinated in soil to which varying amounts of 2,6‐dichlorobenzonitrile had been added and the doses reducing growth by 50% (GID50) were obtained. An attempt was made to find correlations between growth rates, seed weights and fat contents and the GID50 values. There was no significant correlation with fat contents, but there was a significant correlation of increasing growth rate with increasing susceptibility and a negative correlation of seed size with susceptibility. Seed size was inversely related to growth rate so the extent to which either factor affects the sensitivity of the plants is uncertain. There was no significant difference between the mean sensitivities of monocotyledons and dicotyledons to 2,6‐dichlorobenzonitrile. Effet de quelques caractéristiques de semences sur la toxicité du 2,6‐dichlorobenzonitrile