Absence of storage effects on radiation damage after thermal neutron irradiation of dry rice seeds.

Abstract

Storage effects on dry rice seeds equilibrated to 6.8% moisture content were examined after irradiation with X-rays of 5, lO, 20 and 40 kR and with thermal neutrons of 2.1, 4.2, 6.3 and 8.4×1013Nth/cm2. Reduction in root growth was estimated from dose response curves after storage periods of 1 hr to 21 days. The longer the storage period, the greater enhancement of radiation damages in X-irradiated seeds. There were two components in the storage effect, i. e., a rapid increase of radiosensitivity within the first 24 hr and a slow increase up to 21 days. An almost complete absence of a storage effect was observed after thermal neutron exposure, in spite of considerably high radioactivities of the induced nuclides, 56Mn, 42K and 24Na, which were detected from gamma-ray spectrometry of the irradiated seeds. The present results suggest that the contributions of gamma-rays from the activated nuclides and of inherent contaminating gamma-rays are little or negligible against the neutron-induced damage, and that the main radiobiological effects of thermal neutrons are ascribed to in situ radiations, i, e., heavy particles resulting from neutron-capture reaction of atom. A mechanism underlying the absence of storage effect after thermal neutron irradiation was briefly discussed on the basis of radical formation and decay.