New Methods Stimulate Seed Growth.

• Position: Brief Article

Biologist David R. Soll and his colleagues at the University of Iowa, Ames, have developed methods for dramatically increasing the rate at which corn, soybean, sunflower, and other agricultural seeds absorb water and nutrients, and for loading molecules into seeds that can combat insects and fungi. Soil says that the new technology for stimulating water uptake, a process called "imbibition," is faster and more efficient than conventional methods, and the new technology of molecular loading may be particularly effective for protecting germinating seeds that shed their coat, like soybeans.

"The new method of promoting water uptake provides several agricultural advantages," he explains. "First, the rapid uptake of water may provide seeds with an early advantage in germination and early development. A rapid increase in germ water content and osmotic pressure mobilizes the early molecular processes involved in germination. Because many types of plant seeds, including cereal grains, lawn grass seed, and vegetable seeds, may be recalcitrant to...