vernalization

• vernalisation

From vernal +‎ -ization.

vernalization (usually uncountable, plural vernalizations)

1. (agrobiology) The treatment of seeds or bulbs by exposure to low temperatures so as to decrease the vegetative period or to cause the plant to flower or bear fruit more quickly.

   Synonym: jarovization

   Antonym: devernalization

   • 1998, J. T. Ritchie, U. Singh, D. C. Godwin, W. T. Bowen, Cereal growth, development and yield, Gordon Yukio Tsuji, Gerrit Hoogenboom, Philip Thornton (editors), Understanding Options for Agricultural Production, Volume 7, page 88:

     This low temperature requirement for flowering, called vernalization, begins at germination. Vernalization is assumed to occur at temperatures between 0 and 18°C (Ahrens and Loomis, 1963; Tirone and Metzer, 1970).

   • 2005, Helgi Öpik, Stephen A. Rolfe, Arthur John Willis, The Physiology Of Flowering Plants, page 275:

     Species needing vernalization do not flower when grown in a warm climate.

   • 2008, David S. Ingram, Daphne Vince-Prue, Peter J. Gregory, editors, Science and the Garden: The Scientific Basis of Horticultural Practice, page 201:

     For some plants, however, exposure to low temperatures during winter is an essential step in their development. Two of these processes, vernalisation and the breaking of winter dormancy, have important implications for gardeners.

   • 2010, H. Yamashita, Y. Komeda (chapter authors), Eng Chong Pua, Michael R. Davey (editors), Plant Developmental Biology - Biotechnological Perspectives, Volume 1, page 202:

     Furthermore, vernalization has been shown to override the late-flowering phenotype. Both VRN1 and VRN2 genes have been identified to be associated with vernalization.