During a 7-day conditioning treatment of clumps of oil palm (Elaeis guineensis Jacq.) somatic embryos on a medium containing 0.75 M sucrose, the fructose and glucose concentrations remained constant, whereas a ten-fold and twenty-fold increase were noted for sucrose and starch concentrations, respectively. The only new sugar detected was arabinose which remained at a low concentration. After conditioning on media supplemented with various sugars and polyols at similar osmolarities, recovery of clumps of embryo growth was satisfactory except with ribose. After an additional desiccation period, survival was optimal with fructose, galactose, sucrose and glucose, intermediate with maltose and lower with other compounds. When embryos were cryopreserved without previous desiccation, survival was noted after conditioning treatment with sucrose only. In contrast, when freezing was performed after dehydration, survival could be obtained with several substances. It was optimal with sucrose, fructose, galactose and raffinose but was possible also with sorbitol and glucose. Intensity of recovery of proliferation was highest with embryos conditioned with sucrose.

DNA synthesis in organelles seems to be an early event during maize germination. Mitochondria and plastids from maize embryo axes have been separated using differential and gradient centrifugations and DNA polymerase activity has been studied in extracts from each organelle. It has been found that the enzymes from both organelles show some differences from other plant organellar polymerases in terms of response to specific inhibitors, DNA templates and cations. A comparison of different plant organellar DNA polymerases is presented.

A nuclear protein (QP47) is synthesized during the last stage of seed maturation when the embryo cells start to dehydrate and enter a condition of metabolic quiescence. This protein is localized in the nucleoplasm surrounding the chromosomes. The correlation existing between the synthesis of QP47 and arrest of cell proliferation, suggests that the presence of this protein in the nucleus could influence its metabolic activities. This hypothesis is supported by the fact that degradation of this protein precedes resumption of cell proliferation during the early stage of radicle elongation.

Inorganic P, total P and phytic acid-P leakage from imbibing whole soybean, bean, and pea seeds, as well as whole maize and barley grains were measured. The amounts of P and phytic acid leaked during a 6-h soaking period varied for the five species. Soybeans leaked the most P and phytic acid of the species examined. Peas, beans and barley leaked little or no phytic acid. Based on reported levels of total P and phytic acid in the dry seeds/grains that were studied, total P leakage ranged from 0.5 to 1.2%, while phytic acid leakage ranged from 0.01 to 0.5%. No relationship was found between initial levels of total P or phytic acid in the dry seeds/grains and the amount of total P or phytic acid leaked by the imbibed seed/grain. Similarly, the amounts of phytic acid leaked by the seeds/grains of this study did not appear to be related to the water solubility of the phytic acid in the dry seeds/grains.

Electroconductivity tests are currently used for seed vigour assessment. They are rapid and simple and after further development, they may yet provide the seed industry with a non-destructive alternative to the standard germination test, which is thoroughly destructive to the sample, time consuming, and expensive. Seed injury, a result of soaking required by the electroconductivity test, was evaluated using high quality Zea mays L. seeds responding to successive imbibition/dryback cycles. If the soaking time is brief, injury to the seeds should be minimal, thus permitting successive tests on the same sample. We tested 5 imbibition/dryback cycles (C) and 5 imbibition periods, or cycle durations (CD) of 2, 4, 6, 7 and 8 h. Dryback periods lasted 5–7 d at room temperature. Seeds were permitted to dry back to 10% moisture. Electroconductivity readings were obtained at the end of each CD for each C. Each treatment (C × CD) sample, n=100 seeds, was germinated at 25°C for 7 d; radicle lengths were measured after 3 d. The experiment was repeated yielding a total of 50 observations. Viability and vigour losses were measured in response to successive C and increasing CD. Five cycles of 6 h each resulted in only a 10% loss of viability, but a 20% loss of relative vigour, confirming that vigour is more sensitive to the testing procedure. Cycles had the greatest effect on loss of seed quality since 45% of the readily leachable electrolytes were lost from the seeds during the first soaking period. There was no interaction between C and CD.

Quercus robur L. fruits are desiccation sensitive and shed from the plant at high moisture content (c. 48%). Water relations measurements were taken at intervals during the germination of prematurely-harvested immature fruits and naturally-shed mature fruits. In fruits from both harvests the pericarp and seed coat delayed germination by providing physical barriers to emergence of the radicle and by restricting the rate of imbibition. Although immature fruits could germinate in the absence of water they germinated more rapidly in the presence of an external water supply. The fully-mature fruit required a supply of external water, but germination was more rapid than in immature fruits. Substantial physiological changes, resulting in the accumulation of solutes, and increased axis size and extensibility occurred before splitting of the pericarp and subsequent germination of immature fruits. Such changes did not occur in fully-mature fruits, but fruits, from both harvests imbibed water and splitting of the pericarp appeared to result from increased embryo size and tissue pressure. Splitting was minimal prior to germination in immature fruits without an external water supply. It is suggested that the resulting reduction in Ψp when the pericarp splits was greater in the axis than in the cotyledons because of its greater capacity for expansion. This would create a Ψw gradient driving water flow to the axis from the cotyledons allowing continued radicle growth for germination.

A recent hypothesis states that the accumulation of amino-carbonyl reaction products of reducing sugars with proteins (Maillard products) is related to the loss of seed vigour and viability during ageing. Since Maillard products are biochemical end products, their accumulation should provide an index of seed deterioration. A simple fluorescence assay has been used to estimate the quantity of Maillard products in aqueous seed extracts. We tested whether an accumulation of fluorescent compounds correlates with the loss of seed viability during ageing. Fluorescence of extracts from lettuce (Lactuca sativa) embryonic axes increased after controlled deterioration, but was not correlated with ageing period. Fluorescence of extracts from whole broccoli (Brassica oleracea var. italica) seeds was either unchanged or declined during controlled deterioration. Extracts from naturally aged whole seeds of carrot (Daucus carota), tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum), and cauliflower (B. oleracea var. botrytis) had higher fluorescence than controls, but there was no consistent increase in fluorescence in proportion to the loss of viability. Extracts of naturally aged onion (Allium cepa) seeds exhibited less fluorescence than extracts from seeds with higher viability. We conclude that the fluorescence assay does not have general utility as an index of seed deterioration.

Some of the seed-evolved volatiles, which were mainly composed of methanol, acetaldehyde, ethanol and acetone, caused the loss of seed germinability during storage. In general, the deleterious effects of the volatiles increased with increasing RH and temperature during storage. Acetaldehyde had the strongest deleterious effect regardless of RH and temperature, while ethanol caused seed deterioration only at high RHs. Acetone was slightly deleterious to some species, while methanol was almost inert in most seeds. Various aldehydes applied during storage showed some toxicity to seed germinability, which decreased, except for 3-methylbutanal, with increasing molecular size, suggesting that the endogenous volatile compounds with an aldehyde group cause seed deterioration. On the other hand, the contents of volatile compounds in seeds were higher when they were stored at 44% RH (water sorption zone 2), than when stored at 12% RH (water sorption zone 1). Acetaldehyde, the most deleterious volatile, was more abundantly accumulated within the seeds stored at −3.5°C than at 23°C. Based on these facts, it is suggested that endogenous volatiles, especially acetaldehyde, may be an important factor that accelerates seed deterioration which often occurs under lower RHs and/or temperatures throughout long-term storage.

Hydration-dehydration seed pretreatments are well-known to improve germination rate, germination and vigour. However, contradictory results have been reported concerning the effect of a pretreatment on longevity. The present paper shows that the effect of a seed pretreatment on longevity is largely dependent on the quality of the seed at the time of pretreatment. Pretreating wheat seeds of high quality increased the rate of viability loss during subsequent storage. On the other hand, pretreating wheat seeds of relatively low quality decreased the rate of seed deterioration during subsequent storage. In the light of these findings, hitherto contradictory results in the literature could be explained.

Wheat which was grown in acid-washed sand and irrigated with a molybdenum-free nutrient solution was treated with various concentrations of molybdenum (Mo) as a foliar spray at the flag leaf stage. At maturity, dormancy levels and abscisic acid (ABA) content of the seed were determined. Seed dormancy and ABA content increased with increasing rates of Mo application. In a field experiment, wheat (cv. SST 66) was treated with 100 ppm Mo by foliar application at the flag leaf stage. Embryos were tested for sensitivity to exogenously applied ABA. Embryos from Mo-treated plants showed enhanced sensitivity to ABA-induced inhibition of germination. The Mo application also resulted in significantly higher levels of endogenous ABA and Mo in the seeds. It is postulated that Mo deficiency leads to a lack of dormancy in wheat via reduced synthesis of ABA.

The desiccation tolerance of Zizania palustris seeds has been debatable, but recently it has emerged that survival to low moisture contents is a function of the temperature during dehydration. Survival of dehydration is greatest at 25–30°C and viability declines as the dehydration temperature is reduced. On the other hand, extended hydrated chilling (stratification) is required to break dormancy. The present contribution examines the ultrastructural condition of embryonic axes of Zizania palustris after dehydration at various temperatures, and following reimbibition and stratification. Axis cells sustained least damage when dehydration was carried out at 25°C and ultrastructural deterioration was more severe with lower temperatures during water loss. Damage sustained as a result of unfavourably low dehydration temperatures was visible when seeds were fixed from the dry state and was generally exacerbated during fully imbibed stratification. However, 25°C represented the optimum dehydration temperature; seeds that had been dried at 30°C also showed considerable ultrastructural disturbance when fixed from the dry state. This was largely reversed during fully imbibed stratification, although signs of the damage that had been sustained still persisted. These observations are in keeping with the germination behaviour of Z. palustris seeds dehydrated at temperatures above and below 25°C. The results are discussed in terms of the predominance of one of two mechanisms of membrane deterioration, depending on the dehydration temperature, which are probably not mutually exclusive. It is hypothesized that, at temperatures above 25°C, damage by free-radical-mediated events may predominate, whereas, at temperatures below the optimum, irreversible lipid-phase transitions may be the major factor resulting in membrane damage.

We report preliminary experiments to test the hypothesis that two sugars are involved in the acquisition of desiccation tolerance in immature maize embryos. Sucrose and raffinose were quantified during embryo development, at 16–27 days after pollination (DAP) and during slow dehydration. Embryos were exposed to slow drying either upon excision (18 and 16 DAP) or after an incubation treatment resulting in a decrease in sucrose (18 DAP). The sugars were separated by HPLC with a refractive-index detector; composition was determined by comparing peak areas of interest with those of individual sugar standards. Although further evidence is needed, our results do not appear to support the hypothesis.

A survey of proteinaceous inhibitors of the serine proteinases, bovine trypsin and chymotrypsin, that are extractable from dry seeds of several cultivars of pasture grasses has been undertaken. Using crude extracts, most cultivars screened contained inhibitors of chymotrypsin, whereas trypsin inhibition was not detectable. Seeds from four cultivars, Lolium perenne L. cv. Grasslands Ruanui, Lolium × boucheanum cv. Grasslands Greenstone, Festuca arundinacea Schreb. cultivars Grasslands Roa and Grasslands Garland, that contained more potent chymotrypsin inhibition were purified further. After gel filtration chromatography, both trypsin and chymotrypsin inhibition could be observed in all four cultivars, and each separated into two discrete native molecular weights; one of ca. 20–22 kDa and one of ca. 8–10 kDa. However, activity staining, after polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, revealed an array of iso-inhibitors with molecular weights that ranged from ca. 3 kDa to 20 kDa. One of these, a dual trypsin/chymotrypsin inhibitor of ca. 12 kDa that is present in all four cultivars examined, was purified to homogeneity from F. arundinacea cv. Grasslands Garland using anhydro-trypsin affinity chromatography and reverse-phase HPLC. The protein was found to comprise two closely related peptides and N-terminal amino acid sequencing revealed highest identity with a trypsin inhibitor identified in rye (Secale cereale) seeds.