Abstract
The effect of prechilling and light on germination was studied with the seeds of three species in Abies: A. sachalinensis var. mayriana, A. veitchii and A. homolepis. The germination of seeds of all the species is remarkably hastened by prechilling. Their germination is also hastened by light, although the effect is less than by prechilling. With the increased period of prechilling, the seeds germinating in darkness increase and the sensitivity to light also increases. Daily white light for eight hours is more effective in hastening their germination than a single short irradiation of red light, but the differ-ence becomes smaller with prechilling. The stimulative effect of red light is reversed by the far-red irradiation following the former, which suggests that a phytochrome-system takes an important rôle in the light-sensitivity of those seeds.
