Storage behaviour of seeds of Hevea brasiliensis

Berjak P., . Storage behaviour of seeds of Hevea brasiliensis. pp. 195-203. ISSN 0127-7065

The curtailed life-span of seeds of Hevea brasiliensis underlies most of the colourful anecdotes associated with the history of the dissemination of this important species. It is noteworthy that only some 2800 of the 70 000 seeds originally transported from Brazil to Britain survived that epic voyage. This paper describes the ultra-structural situation in embryonic axes from freshly-shed seeds of H. brasiliensis and that characterising material that was transported under non-ideal conditions. The sub-cellular situation in seeds from the latter category (assessed immediately upon receipt) showed the deleterious effects of the only modest water loss that had occurred during their transport. Samples of these seeds were also planted out or stored either in a saturated atmosphere or under desiccating conditions. These recalcitrant (homoiohydrous) seeds were able to repair sub-lethal intracellular damage either when planted out or stored in the short term at high relative humidity. However their longevity in the latter case was considerably curtailed as a result of their relatively debilitated condition consequent upon the post-harvest handling. Those seeds stored under desiccating conditions rapidly lost viability considerably above the documented lethal moisture content. This too is ascribed to the condition of the starting material and stresses (the necessity for the immediate harvest of seeds of H. brasiliensis and their transport under conditions permitting no water loss at all.

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Abstract

The curtailed life-span of seeds of Hevea brasiliensis underlies most of the colourful anecdotes associated with the history of the dissemination of this important species. It is noteworthy that only some 2800 of the 70 000 seeds originally transported from Brazil to Britain survived that epic voyage. This paper describes the ultra-structural situation in embryonic axes from freshly-shed seeds of H. brasiliensis and that characterising material that was transported under non-ideal conditions. The sub-cellular situation in seeds from the latter category (assessed immediately upon receipt) showed the deleterious effects of the only modest water loss that had occurred during their transport. Samples of these seeds were also planted out or stored either in a saturated atmosphere or under desiccating conditions. These recalcitrant (homoiohydrous) seeds were able to repair sub-lethal intracellular damage either when planted out or stored in the short term at high relative humidity. However their longevity in the latter case was considerably curtailed as a result of their relatively debilitated condition consequent upon the post-harvest handling. Those seeds stored under desiccating conditions rapidly lost viability considerably above the documented lethal moisture content. This too is ascribed to the condition of the starting material and stresses (the necessity for the immediate harvest of seeds of H. brasiliensis and their transport under conditions permitting no water loss at all.

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Item Type:	Article
AGROVOC Term:	Hevea brasiliensis
AGROVOC Term:	Seeds
AGROVOC Term:	Seed storage
AGROVOC Term:	Seed germination
AGROVOC Term:	Desiccation (physiology)
AGROVOC Term:	Seed viability
AGROVOC Term:	Water loss
AGROVOC Term:	Deterioration
AGROVOC Term:	Moisture content
Depositing User:	Ms. Suzila Mohamad Kasim
Last Modified:	24 Apr 2025 06:28
URI:	http://webagris.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/23531

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