ISHS Acta Horticulturae 504: VI Symposium on Stand Establishment and ISHS Seed Symposium
SEED CHLOROPHYLL CONTENT AS AN INDICATOR FOR SEED MATURITY AND SEED QUALITY. |
| Authors: | H. Jalink, R. van der Schoor, Y.E. Birnbaum, R.J. Bino |
| Keywords: | maturity, chlorophyll, fluorescence, non-destructive, seed, sort |
| DOI: | 10.17660/ActaHortic.1999.504.23 |
| Abstract:
The production of good quality seed requires timely harvest at physiological maturity for maximal seed vigour. Until now, the maturity status of seeds could not be determined non-destructively. Chlorophyll fluorescence (CF) is now adopted by the seed industry as a new technology that is applicable for effective characterisation of seed quality. Chlorophyll a in the seed coat was excited by laser radiation (670 nm) and the resulting fluorescence was measured instantaneously and non-destructively. An exponential decrease in CF during development and maturation of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) seeds was found. This decline in CF signal was directly related to the germination performance under laboratory and greenhouse conditions. A sorting apparatus based on the CF signal was developed for analysing and sorting seeds individually. Separating tomato seeds into six subsamples varying in CF signal resulted in an optimal seed quality (expressed as percentage of normal seedlings) at intermediate CF signal. Seeds with high CF signal were of lower quality and seeds with the lowest CF signal were of slightly lower quality. A seed sample of white cabbage (Brassica oleracea L.) was also sorted into six CF subsamples. The subsample with the highest CF intensity resulted in the lowest quality and the quality increased with decreasing CF signal. CF is both highly specific and sensitive for chlorophyll and CF measurements can be used as a technique for analysing and sorting seeds of various plant species based on their maturity. Furthermore, CF opens new possibilities to better understand the relation between seed maturity and its physiological, phytopathological and physical aspects. | |
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