The stimulant involved in the germination of Orobanche minor Sm. 1. Assay technique and bulk preparation of the stimulant

Abstract

O. minor is an angiospermous parasite, and the stimulant that the seed requires for germination may come from a variety of spp. Linseed, which is being used as the source of the germination factor in this investigation, is not normally parasitized by O. minor. The bulk prepn. of the stimulant is described. The method involves growing the roots of seedlings in water, from which the stimulant is recovered by adsorption onto charcoal. The technics that used for the detn. of the "relative activity" of various prepns., and for the calculation of percentage recovery of the stimulant during purification, are described.