vernalization

American  

[ver-nuhl-uh-zay-shuhn] / ˌvər nəl əˈzeɪ ʃən /

noun

1. Botany. the act or process of vernalizing.

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vernalization Scientific  

/ vûr′nə-lĭ-zā′shən /

1. The subjection of seeds or seedlings to low temperature in order to hasten plant development and flowering. Vernalization is commonly used for crop plants such as winter rye and is possible because the seeds and buds of many plants require cold in order to break dormancy.

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Example Sentences

This cold-mediated process, called vernalization, has been studied for many decades, and some of the key underlying molecular mechanisms have been discovered.

From Nature • Jul. 14, 2020

The REM subfamily is functionally related to vernalization and flower development18.

From Nature • May 8, 2018

You induce bolting by giving the plant an artificial winter, a process called vernalization after the Latin word for spring.

From Washington Post • Feb. 24, 2015

This process of vernalization translates environmental temperatures into developmental responses through a cascade of molecular responses that depend on epigenetic regulation of the floral repressor.

From Science Magazine • Jan. 6, 2011

The discovery was "vernalization," a method of refrigerating the seeds of wheat varieties that are normally planted in autumn to make them produce a crop if planted in spring.

From Time Magazine Archive