What is germination? What factors are necessary for seed germination?
(botany) The beginning or the process of development of a spore or seed. (petrology) grain growth Sprouting of a seed, spore, or other reproductive body, usually after a period of dormancy. Absorption of water, passage of time, chilling, warming, oxygen availability, and light exposure may all operate in initiating the germination process. The carefully controlled mass germination of cereal seeds supplies enzymes for the making of alcoholic beverages and for other industries; spores of the commercially cultivated mushroom Agaricus brunescens are also mass germinated. In a seed, process by which the plant embryo within the seed resumes growth after a period of dormancy and the seedling emerges. The length of dormancy varies; the seed of some plants (e.g., most grasses and many tropical plants) can sprout almost immediately, but many seeds require a resting stage before they are able to germinate. The viability of seeds (their capacity to sprout) ranges from a few weeks (orchids) to over
