Editing Vernalization (section)

{{Short description|Induction of a plant's flowering process}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2021}}
[[File:Hyoscyamus niger Hullukaali Bolmört C IMG 7657.JPG|thumb|Many species of [[henbane]] require vernalization before flowering.]]

'''Vernalization''' ({{etymology|la|{{Wikt-lang|la|vernus}}|of the [[spring (season)|spring]]}}) is the induction of a plant's [[flower]]ing process by exposure to the prolonged cold of [[winter]], or by an artificial equivalent. After vernalization, plants have acquired the ability to flower, but they may require additional seasonal cues or weeks of growth before they will actually do so. The term is sometimes used to refer to the need of herbal (non-woody) plants for a period of cold dormancy in order to produce new shoots and leaves,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Sokolski |first1=K. |last2=Dovholuk |first2=A. |last3=Dovholuk |first3=L. |last4=Faletra |first4=P. |title=Axenic seed culture and micropropagation of ''Cypripedium reginae'' |journal=Selbyana |volume=18 |issue=2 |year=1997 |pages=172–82 |jstor=41760430 }}</ref> but this usage is discouraged.<ref name = "chouard">{{cite journal
| first1= P. |last1=Chouard|date=June 1960| title = Vernalization and its relations to dormancy| journal = Annual Review of Plant Physiology| volume = 11| pages = 191–238| publisher = Annual Reviews| doi = 10.1146/annurev.pp.11.060160.001203}}</ref>

Many plants grown in [[temperate]] climates require vernalization and must experience a period of low winter temperature to initiate or accelerate the flowering process. This ensures that reproductive development and seed production occurs in spring and winters, rather than in autumn.<ref name = "sung">{{cite journal |last1=Sung |first1=Sibum |last2=He |first2=Yuehui |last3=Eshoo |first3=Tifani W |last4=Tamada |first4=Yosuke |last5=Johnson |first5=Lianna |last6=Nakahigashi |first6=Kenji |last7=Goto |first7=Koji |last8=Jacobsen |first8=Steve E |last9=Amasino |first9=Richard M |title=Epigenetic maintenance of the vernalized state in Arabidopsis thaliana requires LIKE HETEROCHROMATIN PROTEIN 1 |journal=Nature Genetics |volume=38 |issue=6 |pages=706–10 |year=2006 |pmid=16682972 |doi=10.1038/ng1795 |s2cid=2855447 }}</ref> The needed cold is often expressed in [[chilling requirement|chill hours]]. Typical vernalization temperatures are between 1 and 7 degrees Celsius (34 and 45 degrees Fahrenheit).<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Taiz |first1=Lincoln |last2=Murphy |first2=Angus |title=Plant Physiology and Development |date=2015 |publisher=Sinauer Associates |location=Sunderland, Massachusetts (USA) |isbn=978-1-60535-255-8 |page=605}}</ref>

For many [[perennial plants]], such as [[fruit tree]] species, a period of cold is needed first to induce dormancy and then later, after the requisite period, re-emerge from that dormancy prior to flowering. Many [[monocarpic]] [[winter annuals]] and [[biennial plant|biennials]], including some [[ecotype]]s of ''[[Arabidopsis thaliana]]''<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Michaels |first1=Scott D. |last2=He |first2=Yuehui |last3=Scortecci |first3=Katia C. |last4=Amasino |first4=Richard M. |title=Attenuation of FLOWERING LOCUS C activity as a mechanism for the evolution of summer-annual flowering behavior in Arabidopsis |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |volume=100 |issue=17 |pages=10102–7 |year=2003 |pmid=12904584 |pmc=187779 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1531467100 |jstor=3147669 |bibcode=2003PNAS..10010102M |doi-access=free }}</ref> and winter [[cereal]]s such as [[wheat]], must go through a prolonged period of cold before flowering occurs.