Experiments with cereal seeds demonstrate that the reduction in germination and early growth resulting from formaldehyde treatment can be largely overcome by adding the phytohormones, 1-naphthylacetic acid or 3-indolylacetic acid, to the disinfecting solution. The optimum concentration of the hormone for individual varieties of cereals lies between 0.01 and 5 p.p.m. Similar effects were also obtained with hormones after copper sulphate and hot water treatments. The method appears to have practical possibilities, and may also be useful for comparing the physiological activities of different compounds.