The growth responses of seedlings and plantlets to stress conditions in three anthocyaninless tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) mutants

Genes ah, aw and bls speed up the germination in tomato. The present study was undertaken to test whether these genes might also influence the subsequ ent growth of seedlings and young plantlets under optimal and stress condit ions. Two groups of experiments were carried out: (A) stress during the sta ges "germination-cotyledons emergence" and "cotyledons emergence-third expa nded leaf' and (B) stress during the earlier stages "seed imbibition-radicl e protrusion" and "radicle protrusion-cotyledons emergence", re results hav e shown that the earlier cotyledons emergence and more rapid plantlet devel opment of the anthocyaninless mutants were due to their earlier germination .. They depended on the genotype and on the treatment, and could not be att ributed to their greater ability to recover after stress, to more intensive growth under optimal and stress conditions.