Seed dormancy to activity

Corn seed dried properly to less than 15% moisture allows the mitochondria in the embryo cells to remain intact. Respiration in these mitochondria continues at a very slow rate, releasing sufficient energy to maintain membrane integrity of cell organelles.  Genetics, especially of the female parent that supplied the mitochondria from its egg, affected this success as well as the physical conditions during seed development and harvest. Success gets revealed when the seed is planted. That process was described in Corn Journal blog 4/25/2017.
 
Very soon after the corn seed is planted, imbibition begins. The H2O activates the membrane-bound mitochondria to respire, providing energy for protein production. The enzymatic proteins include those that digest the starch stored in the endosperm into more sugar molecules to be transported through the scutellum to other cells in the embryo, resulting in more energy available to produce structures for cell elongation.  Heat energy provides a regulatory function affecting the speed of this germination process.  Imbibition occurs at any temperature but metabolic activity in corn is generally thought to be very low if seed environment is below 50°F.  Speed of germination increases as the temperature increases.
 
Membrane integrity within the seed also affects the net speed of this process.  Those individual seed with more damage are slower to sufficiently activate the system and thus slower to activate the metabolism needed for cell elongation in root (radicle) and the shoot sections of the embryo.  Cool environments, delaying membrane repair, may result in death of the imbibed seed before the shoot can emerge from the soil.  Some of these seed, even after warmed manage only to extend the root through the outer wall for the kernel, the shoot never emerging.  Other weakened seed may finally get enough momentum to push through the soil surface but days after the healthier seed have emerged, resulting in a season-long competitive disadvantage.  Heat energy during germination affects the severity of the effect of membrane damaged seed.
 
Microbes in the soil are generally warded off by products of seed metabolism in healthy seed. Those individual seeds that are slow to generate sufficient energy for growth are also more easily attacked by microbes, further slowing the germination process.  Seed treatments are useful in giving the damaged seed more time to successfully germinate. Healthy seeds can successfully produce normal seedlings despite surrounding common soil microbes but those weaker individuals need the extra protection.