Plants have evolved a variety of adaptive mechanisms that allow them to optimize growth and development while coping with environmental stresses. These mechanisms include seed and bud dormancy, photoperiod sensitivity, and low-temperature response. Seed dormancy delays germination until after the embryo has gone through an after-ripening period. The over-winter survival of buds of many temperate zone trees and shrubs is dependent on a dormancy stage that starts in the late summer or early fall and ends after exposure to an extended period of cold or increasing day length in the spring. In addition to trees, many other dicots and grasses have a photoperiod response that can advance or delay flowering. Vernalization is a requirement for growth at low temperatures before a plant will flower. if vernalization brings a beneficial effect for the plant, can we consider this cold period as abiotic stress?

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