Figure 1

Morphological and structural characteristics of wheat seeds during the four germination stages. a. Seed morphological changes during the four germination stages (phase I: seeds absorb water for 5 min; phase II: seeds absorb water for 5 hours; phase III: seeds absorb water for 15 hours; phase IV: seeds absorb water for 35 hours). b. Changes in 1,000-seed weight during the germination process. c. Endosperm slice from the four germination periods observed by light microscope magnified 20 times (S: starch granules). d. Embryo slice from the first three periods observed by light microscope magnified 5 times (R: radicle; G: germ). e. Embryo slice from the first three periods observed by light microscope magnified 40 times.