Interactions between the magnitude and the instant of the shifts showed that the induced lag times were greater at 10 _C than at 5 _C, Fig. 3. At these temperatures, the effect of the instant of the shift was not marked. In contrast, a decrease in the induced lag time was observed for a 15 _C magnitude with decreasing the instant of the shift. In particular, at 1/4, the induced lag time was negative, i.e., the observed germination time was less than the theoretical one. Germination can be defined as a succession of biochemical reactions that occur within the conidia during activation, swelling, polarization, and germ tube formation, thus eventually leading to