Halińska, A. and Lewak, St. 1987. Free and conjugated gibberellins in dormancy and germination of apple seeds.The presence of gibberellin A4 (GA4) was confirmed in partly stratified seeds of apple (Malus domestica Borb., cv. Antonówka) by mass spectrometry of the methyl ester. Levels of free and conjugated gibberellins A4+7 and A9 changed during drying of mature seeds, during cold and warm stratification, as well as during germination of dormant and non‐dormant embryos. The temporary rise in GA4+7 during cold stratification and during the culture of dormant embryos as well as the lack of it under conditions of warm stratification, allowed us to postulate a role for GA4+7 in the removal of dormancy. In addition, GA9 was absent in dormant embryos and increased during cold stratification and during the culture of non‐dormant embryos. This suggests the involvement of GA9, in induction of normal development of the seedling. The equivalence between changes in free and conjugated GAs suggests that formation and hydrolysis of conjugates are involved in the control of the physiologically active levels of free GA4+7 and GA9.