Seed Dormancy in Red Rice (Oryza sativa). II. Response to Cytokinins

Dormant, dehulled red rice (Oryza sativa L. ‘Louisiana strawhulled′) germinated 80 to 90% at 30 C upon exposure to 10-3 M kinetin (6-furfurylaminopurine), benzyladenine (6-benzylaminopurine), or isopentenyladenine [6-(3-methylbut-2-enylamino)purine] at pH 3.5. Zeatin [6-(4-hydroxy-3-methylbut-trans-2-enylamino)purine] was also active, eliciting 45% germination at 10-3 M. Adenine was inactive at concentrations as high as 10-2 M. There was little influence of light and no effect of initial pH of the medium upon cytokinin-stimulated germination. At 20 C the response to cytokinins was reduced, but germination of non-dormant seeds was not prevented. At 30 C, the germination of dehulled red rice with 10-3 M kinetin occurred rapidly, with almost 70% germination after 2 days. When dehulled seeds were incubated in water and then transferred to kinetin, percent germination decreased as the duration of water incubation increased. The loss of cytokinin response did not parallel the timecourse of imbibition. Cytokinins did not break dormancy of intact seeds. The hull appeared to limit kinetin uptake and inhibited germination even when kinetin was forced into intact seeds by vacuum infiltration. Dry-after-ripening of intact seeds at 30 C did not increase the kinetin-sensitivity of intact red rice.