The mesocotyl has an important role. A wheat farmer in western Nebraska purchased seed of a recently developed wheat variety. The seed supply may have been somewhat limited, and in order to meet the demand, a considerable quantity was marketed even though the seed was shriveled. The grower drilled the seed somewhat deeper than normal so as to place the kernels in moist soil. The seedlings failed to emerge. The first leaf blade unfurled through the tip of the coleoptile despite the fact that the coleoptile did not break through the soil crust. Failure of the coleoptile to emerge might have been due to a genetic weakness in the variety - a short mesocotyl. However, the shortage of endosperm (starch) in the shriveled kernels may have limited growth.