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Dormancy is a condition where seeds will not germinate even when the environmental conditions (water, temperature, and aeration) are permissive for germination.

This not only prevents immediate germination but also regulates the time, conditions, and place where germination will occur.

The major categories of dormancy are listed in the figure at the right.

  1. Primary dormancy
    1. Exogenous
      1. Physical
      2. Chemical
    2. Endogenous
      1. Physiological
        • Nondeep
        • Intermediate
        • Deep
      2. Morphological
      3. Morphophysiological
    3. Combinational
  2. Secondary dormancy
    1. Thermodormancy
    2. Conditional