Deionized Water Affecting Barley Seeds

Germination is the sprouting of a seedling to a seed. All seeds need oxygen, water, and efficient temperature in order to complete germination. A key ingredient for seeds to fully sprout is water. Water will moisten the seed and allow it to complete germination in order to grow and complete its cycle. Although, when sodium chloride is present, it takes way of water trying to enter the seed, therefore creating a blockage and will become inactive or germinate slowly (cocoponics, 2011). Unlike diffusion, the mixing of solute particles with water, Osmosis is water mixing with solute particles to pass through the cell wall and provide nutrients to the cell. Since osmosis is a type of diffusion that only involves water moving through the permeable membrane, salinity affects seed germination through osmotic effects (Bliss et al., 1986). When NaCl is present, the concentration of water particles lower, making the seed incapable of reaching its necessary nutrients. Barley seeds are considered whole grains
Deionized water is purified water in which its ions have been removed, therefore having higher osmosis effects. However, final germination results tend to decrease with increases in temperature, suggesting that optimal germination temperature is a trade-off between the two processes in barley (Gummerson, 1986). Although the maximum germination percentage was realized at low temperatures, it seems clear that there must be a minimum germination temperature, or more likely a distribution of minimum germination temperatures. In conclusion, barley seeds acquire Na+ from the saline environment prior to and during germination, which has the net effect of allowing them to absorb more water and germinate faster than seeds in a deionized water solution, and to be able to germinate under osmotic conditions in which they would otherwise not be able