Comparison of viability tests of orchid seed

Semena kukavičevk asimbiontsko kalijo samo, če so živa. Če niso, ne kalijo, kljub ustreznemu gojišču. Da si prihranimo dilemo, ali semena ne kalijo zato, ker niso živa oziroma ne kalijo zaradi neustreznega gojišča, je dobro vsa semena pred kalitvijo testirati, ali so sploh živa. Preverili smo učinkovitost štirih metod za ugotavljanje živosti semen orhidej: metodo s flouroscein diacetat-om (FDA), metodo s trifenil tetrazolijevim klorid-om (TTC), metodo z difenil tetrazolijevim bromidom (MTT) in metodo z metilenskim modrilom. Od preizkušenih metod se je kot najprimernejša izkazala metoda z metilenskim modrilom, ki je bila najbolj primerljiva z metodo s FDA in kalitvenim testom. Je cenovno ugodna in enostavna, ker ne potrebujemo mikroskopa s flourescenco kot pri metodi s FDA. Primerljive rezultate smo dobili tudi z metodo s TTC raztopljenim v fosfatnem pufru, vendar pa zanjo potrebujemo vodno kopel in je časovno neugodna. Metodi s TTC raztopljen v destilirani vodi in z MTT nista dali primerljivih rezultatov.Asymbiotic germination is possible only when seeds are viable. Nonviable seeds can not germinate even in perfect conditions. To avoid questioning weather medium is not suitable or seeds are just not viable is better to test seeds viability. Four different viability tests have been tested: flouroscein diacetate (FDA), triphenyl tetrazolium chloride (TTC), diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) and methylene blue. Methylene blue turns out to be the most appropriate, because it is not expensive, it si simple, it can be comparable to FDA test and a germination test, and we do not have to use fluorescence as we do with FDA test. Test with TTC dissolved in phosphate buffer also works, but disadvantage is the need of water bath and time. The test with TTC dissolved in distiller water and MMT test did not gave any comparative results noting them not suitable for testing orchid seed viability