Showing papers in "Seed Science and Technology in 2021"

Flowering pattern and seed development in indeterminate peanut cv. 'Margenta' and its influence on seed quality

Abstract: Peanut (Arachis hypogaea) cv. ‘Margenta’ has been reported to have poor germination (10%) at harvest. Peanut is an indeterminate crop and the nature of the plant can result in pods of varying maturity at harvest, contributing to the low germination. Thus, this study considered the flowering pattern and seed development in relation to plant growth and development to understand the relationship between maturity stages and seed quality. Peanut plants were uprooted from 24 – 114 days after anthesis (DAA). Pod and seed characteristics were observed, the ability to germinate was tested, and maturity stages were proposed. The flowering pattern conformed to a bell shaped curve with the first flowering at 25 days after sowing (DAS), which continued until 106 DAS. Pod size was found to remain constant from 54 DAA onwards while embryos attained maximum size at 64 DAA. Physiological maturity occurred at 94 DAA, while the highest germination (66%) was recorded sometime prior to physiological maturity (PM) (32% germination), followed by the onset of dormancy. Hence, pods are recommended to be uprooted at 74 – 84 DAA, and only pods within 0.1 m of the main stem are recommended as seeds to ensure uniformity and high germination.

Physiological and biochemical characteristics of cold stratification to overcome morphophysiological dormancy in Glehnia littoralis seed

Abstract: Cold stratification is commonly used for breaking morphophysiological dormancy in Glehnia littoralis seeds. However, the physiological and biochemical characteristics of dormancy release are still unclear. For our study, dormant G. littoralis seeds were subjected to cold stratification (4°C). Physiological and biochemical characteristics, including germination percentage, the activities of antioxidant enzymes and α-amylase, and soluble sugar, soluble protein, H2O2, malondialdehyde (MDA) and coumarin were determined in imbibed seeds after different stratification periods (0, 30, 60, 90 or 120 days). The morphophysiological dormancy in G. littoralis seeds was completely released by cold stratification for 120 days. The activities of catalase (CAT) and content of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) and total soluble sugars were significantly increased, while coumarins was significantly decreased during dormancy release. Dormancy release was significantly positively correlated with CAT activity (r = 0.903) and accumulation of H2O2 (r = 0.985) and total soluble sugars (r = 0.952), and significantly negatively correlated with coumarins (r = −0.919). Thus, the increase in H2O2, soluble sugars level and CAT activity and decrease in coumarins during cold stratification might contribute to promoting dormancy release in G. littoralis seeds.