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9: Seeds

  • Page ID
    93177
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    Learning objectives
    • List three functions of a seed and identify its structures.
    • Describe the process of seed germination.
    • List the external factors required for seed germination.
    • Understand dormancy and how the skilled plant propagator overcomes it.

    Seeds are key to feeding the world’s population as a nutrition and calorie source and for the propagation of most crops. In addition, being a fusion of paternal (pollen) and maternal (egg) genetic material, seeds create diversity; evolution acts on this diversity, and plant breeders take advantage of it to improve crops.

    Thumbnail: Why a coconut? Because inside the coconut’s fibrous husk is a seed (image: Coconut. Filo gèn. CC BY-SA 4.0).


    This page titled 9: Seeds is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Tom Michaels, Matt Clark, Emily Hoover, Laura Irish, Alan Smith, and Emily Tepe (Minnesota Libraries Publishing Project) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.