Status Of Seeds Research Articles

Dry storage alters intraspecific variation in phenotypic traits at early life stages: evidence from a dominant alpine meadow species

AbstractThe intraspecific variations of phenotypic traits in the early life stages, such as seed germination and seedling establishment, are important components affecting species adaptation and differentiation. As one of the most common ways in which seeds are maintained, dry storage usually affects these traits, by either increasing or decreasing variation among populations. However, little is known about how the interaction between dry storage and population variation of a species affects the performance and adaptability of early life-cycle traits. In this study, we conducted experiments with seeds from ten populations of Elymus nutans along an altitudinal gradient on the eastern Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Fresh seeds and seeds stored dry for 6 months were used to quantify the temperature thresholds for germination, determine seedling emergence and survival in two common gardens and examine the correlation between these traits and environmental conditions of population provenance. Dry storage increased germination percentage, germination speed and seedling emergence, and decreased intraspecific variation in germination traits of seeds (reduced by 33.36, 52.05 and 20.45% for Tb, θT(50) and σθT, respectively). Dry storage had little effect on the intraspecific variation of seedling emergence and survival. In addition, the temperature threshold for germination cannot be used to predict seedling emergence and survival in either common garden, regardless of whether seeds were stored or not. These results indicated that it is feasible to use dry-stored seeds to evaluate and select suitable provenances in ecological restoration, and using dry-stored seeds in ecological restoration projects is expected to achieve better vegetation restoration results than fresh seeds. On the other hand, the status of seeds (fresh vs. dry stored) should be considered in an evaluation of the adaptive value of plant functional traits, especially in the early life stages, otherwise, inconsistent conclusions may be drawn.

Determination and Control of Seed Moisture

Moisture content determination is one of the most important and common assessments made on seeds. It contributes to the estimation of the value of a seed lot in commercial settings and the physiological status of seeds in research and conservation. The most common method for determining seed moisture content is by measuring the change in weight of a sample after drying at a constant temperature for a set period of time. This, however, renders the seeds unusable for other purposes, such as viability testing. Here, we review various methods for assessing the moisture status of seeds, including non-destructive methods. Controlling the amount of water in seeds is just as important as being able to measure the amount of water in seeds. Perhaps most notably, orthodox seeds are normally dried to low moisture content to maintain viability and vigour for longer, with the seeds either stored in breathable containers in a dry environment or sealed in air-tight containers such that they cannot reabsorb water. However, and especially in seed research, we are sometimes interested in having seeds at an intermediate or high moisture content. Hence, in this review we also discuss various ways to adjust the moisture content of seeds.

Seed of rice plant classification using coarse tree classifier

The goal of this paper is to help the agriculture to have consistent observation in the status of seeds in rice plants and have a good quality postproduction by classifying the seeds automatically leading to reduction of low-quality rice plants while achieving higher demands in exportation as the quality increases. Additionally, manually observing the seeds of rice plants does not give an accurate evaluation as factors such as fatigue and emotion can affect the result. Using image processing and color feature extraction, it extracted the red, green, and blue (RGB) color feature lying in the pixel point of the seed in the healthy and unhealthy images of rice plants and classified by coarse tree classifier (CTC). The classifier achieved a 100% accuracy and training time of 0.32189 seconds, hence the fitted machine learning approach in the study.

Fungal colonization of seeds of three lupine species in different regions of Poland

The health status of seeds of three lupine species (white lupine, narrow-leaved lupine, and yellow lupine) from different regions of Poland was investigated. Seeds were analyzed by microscopic method and PCR. The examined lupine seeds were colonized by saprotrophic fungi of the genera <em>Alternaria</em>, <em>Cladosporium</em>, and <em>Penicillium</em>, and pathogenic fungi of the genera <em>Fusarium</em>, <em>Botrytis</em>, <em>Mycosphaerella</em>, and <em>Colletotrichum</em>. The relative frequency (RF) of fungi detected on lupine seeds from the regions of Kujawy, Wielkopolska, Lower Silesia, and Warmia and Mazury was determined. The highest RF values of pathogenic fungi were noted in Lower Silesia in 2012 and 2013, and in Warmia and Mazury in 2011. The RF values of pathogenic and saprotrophic fungi on lupine seeds harvested in different regions of Poland were affected by weather conditions. PCR analyses revealed the presence of <em>Tri</em> genes in the seeds of narrow-leaved lupine. The analyzed seeds were relatively free of pathogenic fungi and could be used for sowing and feed production.

Storage-Dependent Changes in Dormancy and Germination of Himalayan Mayapple (Podophyllum hexandrum Royle) Seeds and their Response to Gibberellic Acid

The storage-dependent changes in viability and dormancy/germination status of seeds of a Western population of Himalayan Mayapple (Podophyllum hexandrum), an endangered plant species of high medicinal value, have been monitored with particular reference to the changes in seed responsiveness to GA3. Shortly after harvest (3 months), seeds exhibited dormancy that was marginally overcome after storage for 30 months. GA3 treatment was effective in overcoming the dormancy, particularly when concentrated H2SO4 was used. The responsiveness of the seeds to GA3, however, decreased with the storage period. A subset of seeds that failed to germinate under a GA3-H2SO4-GA3 treatment eventually deteriorated. GA3-induced enhancement of the activities of α-amylase and dehydrogenases (2,3,5 triphenyltetrazolium chloride (TTC) reduction) corresponded to germination improvement in seeds stored for a short duration, but not in seeds stored for long period of time. Lipid peroxidation in seeds did not change owing to storage or GA3 treatment, whereas catalase activity tended to decline marginally. Seed phenolic contents were not involved in the seed germination behavior. Possible mechanisms of heterogeneity in responsiveness of seeds to GA3 are discussed.