A Comparison of Water Imbibition and Controlled Deterioration in Five Orthodox Species

Orthodox seeds deteriorate even when stored in the best of conditions; hence, it is very important to monitor germination in stored seeds. To assess orthodox seed deterioration, a germination test is usually employed. This study assessed and compared seed deterioration in five orthodox species using electrolyte leakage and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The study also compared water imbibition by the test orthodox seeds. To achieve this, the seeds from three wild (Bolusanthus speciosus; Combretum erythrophyllum; Erythrina caffra) and two agricultural (Pisum sativum and Cucurbita pepo) species were imbibed between 20 layers of single-ply paper towel. The other set was subjected to controlled deterioration at 40 °C and 100% relative humidity for 32 d, with samples taken for germination and electrolyte leakage measurement at 4 d intervals. FTIR measurements were performed at 0, 20, and 32 d of controlled deterioration. The results indicated that there were some significant interspecies differences in the imbibition times and seed water contents but these were not large. In all species, uptake of water was complete between about 15 and 25 h. The wild species showed higher sensitivity to controlled deterioration. Complete loss of germinability occurred much earlier in the wild species (20 d in B. speciosus and E. caffra, and 16 d in Co. erythrophyllum) compared with 36 d for the agricultural species P. sativum and Cu. pepo. There was a negative correlation between electrolyte leakage and seed germination in all wild and agricultural species. A strong positive correlation was observed between the time of controlled deterioration, electrolyte leakage, and FTIR transmission in all the species. While controlled deterioration may help in decisions relating to the storage of orthodox seeds, the water imbibition results from this study will help to set the priming time of the species. The study reaffirms electrolyte leakage as an indicator of seed viability in P. sativum and Cu. pepo; it also recommends the use of electrolyte leakage as an indicator of seed deterioration in B. speciosus, Co. erythrophyllum, and E. caffra. The study also recommends FTIR as a tool for monitoring the germination of stored seeds of all the test species