The authors studied the effects of maturity and after-ripening on the germinability of seeds, using the dwarf variety “Masterpiece”. The bean seeds were sown on April, 5, 25 and May 5, 1955.
Germination tests of the seeds which were harvested from pods of 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35 days after anthesis were carried out. These lots of seeds were after-ripened for 5, 10, 15 and 20 days, so that the maximum period from anthesis would reach 35 days.
1. The seeds harvested 15 days after anthesis did not germinate at all, but those harvested 20 days after anthesis showed germination to some degree. Germination percentages of seeds harvested more than 25 days after anthesis increased gradually as the period between anthesis and seed harvesting became longer, and the seeds harvested 35 days after anthesis showed almost 100% germination.
2. The effects of after-ripening on the germinability of bean seeds were very remarkable. For example, even the seeds harvested 15 days after anthesis which would not germinate at all in the fresh condition showed germination to some degree by 5 days after-ripening and almost 100% germination by 20 days after-ripening. Also, the seeds harvested 20 days after anthesis which would show only less than 10% germination in fresh state reached 100% germination by 10 days after-ripening.
3. There was a tendency that although the total number of days from anthesis was the same, seeds which were harvested early and after-ripened had better germinability than fresh seeds. But there were some exceptions with the seeds which were harvested 15 days after anthesis.