Use of Gibberellin to hasten Germination of Solanum Seed

TRUE seed of the potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) frequently has a delayed germination1, and we find that this also applies to most other tuber-bearing Solanum species, where it is usual for seed to remain dormant from 1–3 months or longer. Geneticists and potato breeders have been inconvenienced by this difficulty. Our results with certain techniques2,3 for hastening germination of Solanum seed have been variable. Since gibberellin has been used to promote germination and terminate dormancy of seeds in other genera4–6, its effectiveness to hasten germination of Solanum seed was investigated by us.