Effects of temperature, water potential, and light on germination responses of redroot pigweed seeds to ethylene.

The responses of redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus L.) seeds to nine ethylene concentrations between 0.5 and 50 microliters per liter were assessed at different temperatures and water potentials and in either continuous white light or darkness. Under all experimental treatments, the probit-transformed percentages increased linearly with the log of the ethylene concentration. In dormant seeds, the slope of the response line was unaffected by either light or water potential but increased with decreasing temperature. Conversely, the slope increased with increasing temperature in a partially afterripened seed lot.The ethylene response threshold for germination was little affected by temperature or light, ranging from 0.2 to 0.7 microliter per liter, but decreased to less than 0.1 microliter per liter at negative water potentials. Osmotic inhibition of germination at -4 bars was largely relieved by 1 microliter per liter ethylene. Such interactions between ethylene and other environmental conditions may play an important role in the course of germination of soil-borne seeds.