Hold a seed in your hand. It looks still and quiet. But a baby plant is sleeping inside!
What is inside a seed?
A seed has three main parts.
- The seed coat. It is the seed’s jacket.
- The baby plant. It is called the embryo.
- Stored food. It feeds the baby plant.
So a seed is like a tiny lunchbox with a baby inside!
Seeds come in many sizes. A mustard seed is tiny. A mango has one big seed inside. Look in your kitchen too. Rajma, chana and moong are all seeds!
Waking up
A seed needs three things to wake up. It needs water. It needs air. It needs the right warmth.
Water and air go in through the seed coat. The seed swells up. Have you seen soaked chana grow fat? That is water going in! Then the coat splits open. This waking up is called germination.
Root first, then shoot
Guess what comes out first? The root! It grows down into the soil. It drinks water for the plant.
Next comes the shoot. It grows up towards the light. Soon, small green leaves open. Now the plant can make its own food from sunlight.
Do not plant a seed too deep. It may use up its stored food before it reaches the top!
Try this: Put a few moong seeds on wet cotton in a bowl. Keep the cotton damp. Look at them every day. Which comes out first, the root or the shoot?