Evaluation of initial seed quality and storage conditions on biochemical and physiological changes of soybean seeds

Abstract

A factorial experiment was conducted to evaluate the biochemical changes during the soybean seed deterioration based on a completely randomized design. The treatments consisted of germination in two levels of minimum and high quality, three initial seed moisture content (low, medium and high moisture), and two storage conditions were considered including the common storage in Moghan and the controlled storage condition. Indices of germination percentage, vigor and biochemical changes including protein content, soluble sugars, malondialdehyde, catalase and peroxidase enzymes were evaluated. The study of biochemical changes of deteriorated seeds during the storage showed that, with the increase of seeds’ deterioration, the soluble sugars and protein percentage decreased, as well. Moreover, seeds’ storage in poor condition caused a significant decrease in seeds’ soluble sugar and total protein content. Also, the increase of seed moisture was followed by further seed deterioration that significantly decreased the content of soluble sugars and total protein. Significant differences were observed between seeds with different initial germinations and they had significantly higher content of soluble sugars and protein percentages. Furthermore, measuring the amount of malondialdehyde and the activity of catalase and peroxidase enzymes indicated that there exists a significant correlation between the degree of seed deterioration with the level of malondialdehyde and the activity of scavenging enzymes. Overall, along with the decrease of germination and the quality of soybean seeds after the storage, the amount of lipids peroxidation increased and the seed deterioration decreased the activity of catalase and peroxidase enzymes during the storage.