Gross Nutritional Contributions of Maize Endosperm and Scutellum to Germination Growth of Maize Axis

Abstract

The gross nutritional contributions to the germination growth of the maize axis by the scutellum and the endosperm were investigated by germinating excised embryos and excised axes on different carbohydrate substrates and following their growth. The results indicate that the mature embryo depends on the endosperm only for a source of carbohydrate and inorganic ions, and that it does not require hormones, vitamins or other factors originating in the endosperm for successful germination. Respiratory quotients for the embryo and the loss of lipid from the scutellum were determined at intervals during germination, and these data coupled with the results of the culture studies suggest that the early germination growth of the axis is dependent upon the lipid of the scutellum.