Fig. 3. Comparison of water gain and germination for wheat seed in good seed-soil contact and for seed suspended in 11-mm holes. Individual seed weights were used to calculate water gain on a dry weight basis. (a) Oven-dried (105°C) seed. At 64 h, water gain was 18.1 mg for soil contact and 17.5 mg for 11-mm holes. (b) Normal seed. The large increase in water gain at 55 h by seeds in soil contact is probably due to root growth, averaging 7 mm. Error bars, where large enough to be seen, show standard error of the mean: (a) n = 3, (b) n = 5.