7: Seeds
- Page ID
- 124080
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- 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).