Question

Vernalisation: What is it? and What was the first thing they studied in regards to it ? : )

Answer 1

Wiki says: "Vernalization (from Latin: vernus, of the spring) is the acquisition of a plant's ability to flower or germinate in the spring by exposure to the prolonged cold of winter. After vernalization, plants have acquired the ability to flower, but they may require additional seasonal cues or weeks of growth before they will actually flower.

In the history of agriculture, farmers observed a traditional distinction between "winter cereals," whose seeds require chilling, and "spring cereals," whose seeds can be sown in spring and flower soon thereafter. The word "vernalization" is a translation of "Jarovization," a word coined by Trofim Lysenko to describe a chilling process he used to make the seeds of winter cereals behave like spring cereals ("Jarovoe" in Russian). Scientists had also discussed how some plants needed cold temperatures to flower, as early as the 18th century, with the German plant physiologist Gustav Gassner often mentioned for his 1918 paper." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vernalisation