STUDIES IN BARLEY AND MALT: IV. EXPERIMENTS WITH DORMANT BARLEY

Abstract

As a preliminary to studying the causes and removal of dormancy in barley the germinative energy, water sensitivity and germinative capacity tests previously described (this Journal, 1955, 25, 295) have been applied to representative dormant barleys. It is shown that substantial improvements in germination ensue after the outer skins of the corns have been removed or merely damaged. From these tests, and from a study of the influence of hydrogen peroxide and oxygen tension on germination, it has become clear that two distinct aspects of dormancy may usefully be distinguished. The first of these is concerned with an inability of the dormant corn to germinate even under the best natural conditions and the second with a pronounced sensitivity of the germination of such corns to an increased quantity of water during germination. 1955 The Institute of Brewing & Distilling