Although many reviews and articles about germination have been published, our understanding of the process is far from complete. Some of the reactions involved in the transforma- tions and translocation of reserve compounds and their final fate in the growing tissues was the subject of the annual symposium of the Phytochemical Society of North America which was held in August, 1982, on the campus of the University of Ottawa, Canada. A major emphasis was on low molecular weight compounds, amino acids and sugars, and the checks and balances operating as they are produced by hydrolysis in...