Radicle growth of the corn inbred Oh51A was reduced by imbibitional chilling at 5 C. The effect was mediated by the initial moisture of the kernel prior to hydration. Five percent initial moisture kernels were injured while 13% initial moisture kernels were not. The formation of a structural lesion in the radicle during the first 24 hr of hydration at 5 C of 5% initial moisture kernels was correlated with subsequent radicle growth reduction at 25 C. The lesion did not form during hydration of 13% initial moisture kernels at 5 C, in kernels hydrated at 25 C, in unimbibed kernels, or in heat‐killed, cold‐imbibed kernels. The lesion also did not appear during the imbibitional chilling of the corn inbred B8 which did not exhibit radicle growth reduction. Two sources of Oh51A with similar lesion frequencies were different in the severity of growth reduction. While the lesion became sealed at 25 C subsequent to cold hydration, growth reduction differences were not fully explained by this phenomenon. In one source more seedlings exhibited reduced growth than expected from the frequency of observable lesions. Therefore, other types of damage contributed to the reduction of radicle growth.