Seedling Vigor and the Early Nonphotosynthetic Stage of Seedling Growth in Grasses1

Several species of grasses which have different ratings for seedling vigor were examined for rapidity of germination, seedling growth rates in the dark, and the ultimate length of dark grown seedlings. These are attributes which could be of importance in seedling vigor during the early, nonphotosynthetic stage of seedling growth. Extreme rapidity of germination largely accounts for the high seedling vigor of Schismus arabicus. In three species and strains of Phalaris, there were indications that rapidity of germination and mean seedling growth rates paralleled their rating for seedling vigor. No relation appeared to exist between total seedling length adjusted to a common seed weight and rating for seedling vigor.