PG major SEMINAR on minimize seed deterioration during its storage of orthodox or recalcitrant seed ppt file delivered by Pratik Bhankhar (M.Sc. Seed Science and Technology) at C. P. College of Agriculture, S. D. Agricultural University, Sardarkrushinagar. it contains How to minimize the seed deterioration during its storage.

1. Minimize seed deterioration during it’s storage of
orthodox or recalcitrant seed
Major Guide
Dr. H. S. Bhadauria
Associate Professor,
Department of Genetics and Plant
Breeding, CPCA,
S. D. Agricultural University,
Sardarkrushinagar.
COURSE CODE: SST 591
Presented by
Bhankhar Pratik D.
Reg. No.: 04-AGRMA-02200-2020
M.Sc. (Agri.) Seed Science & Technology
Minor Guide
Dr. N. V. Soni
Assistant Professor,
Department of Genetics and Plant
Breeding, CPCA,
S. D. Agricultural University,
Sardarkrushinagar.
1

2. CONTENTS
Introduction
Seed deterioration
Minimize seed deterioration
Case studies
Conclusion
2

3.  What is seed ?
 A seed is an embryonic plant
enclosed in a protective outer
covering
 The embryo develops from
the zygote, and the seed coat from
the integuments of the ovule
 Seeds are the product of the
ripened ovule, after fertilization by
pollen and some growth within the
mother plant
 Seeds have been an important
development in the reproduction
and success of gymnosperm and
angiosperm plants
3

4.  Better-quality seed has a higher demand on the market. Seed
quality includes many aspects, such as seed purity, seed vigor,
seed longevity etc.
 Seed quality: Potential performance of a seed lot
 Trueness to variety
 Presence of inert matter
 Seed of other crops or weed seed
 Germination percentage
 Vigor
 Appearance
 Free from disease
High-quality seed lots should meet minimum standards for each
of these characteristics
4

5. Factors influencing seed storage
Biotic
A biotic
1.Biotic factors:
a. Factors related to seed
 Genetic make up of seed
 Initial seed quality
 Provenance
 Seed Moisture content
b. Other biotics
 Insects
 Fungi
 Rodents
 Mis-handling during sampling
2. Abiotic factors:
 Temperature
 Relative humidity
 Seed store sanitation
 Gaseous atmosphere
 Packaging material
5

6. Types of seed
Dr. E. H. Roberts (1973) divided
seeds into 2 groups based on their
storage characteristics:
1) Orthodox seed
 Dried to moisture contents of 10%
or less & successfully stored at
subfreezing temperatures
 Under goes maturation and drying
on the parent plant prior to
shedding
 can tolerate considerable desiccation
and freezing temperature, RH and
moisture content of the seed
6

7. Can with stand dehydration without damage
Stored in dry state on long term basis and storage life can be
prolonged by decrease in moisture content of the seed, storage
temperature and RH
E.g. Most of the field crops
7

8. 2) Recalcitrant seed
 Seed which cannot survive desiccation when dry to low moisture content
 cannot be stored for the longer period
 Sensitive to chilling or freezing temperature
 The moisture content of recalcitrant seeds at maturity is in the range of 30
to 70 percent
8

9.  Modifying the storage environment is not
possible because of hydrated seed have
<20% moisture content
 Cannot tolerate desiccation or freezing
injury - stored under the moisture content
of seed >20% and temp. <15ºC except in
few cases it can be stored in media such as
sawdust, charcoal, absorbent paper, plastic
bag for maintaining viability
 Indigenous species normally short lives and
perish within a week or within few months
and have water content of 50-60%
 E.g. coffee, mango, cocoa, rubber, jack
fruit, Neem and oil palm
9

10. Seed deterioration
Seed deterioration can be defined as
“deteriorative alterations occurring
with time that increase the seed’s
exposure to external challenges and
decrease the ability of the seed to
survive”
Seed deterioration is loss of seed quality,
viability and vigor due to effect of
adverse environmental factors (Kapoor
et al., 2010)
Annual losses due to deterioration can be as much as 25% of the harvested
crop. It is one of the basic reasons for low productivity (Shelar et al., 2008)
Plants that have originated from deteriorate seed can also reduce growth rate
(Kapoor et al., 2010)
10

11. Types of Seed deterioration
1. Field weathering
 The deterioration of seed quality, vigor
and viability, due to high relative
humidity and high temperature
during the post-maturation and pre-
harvest period is referred to as field
weathering (Bhatia et al., 2010)
 Deterioration caused by weathering is
directly related to seed exposure to
adverse conditions, so that the
physiological quality is depending on
the environmental conditions
preceding harvesting (Padua et al.,
2009)
11

12. 2. Harvest and post-harvest
deterioration
Seed quality is highly affected by
harvesting and handling methods
Harvest and post-harvest
deterioration comprises threshing,
processing machinery, seed collection,
handling, transporting and drying
Mechanical damage is one of the
major causes of seed deterioration
during storage
Large seeded varieties are more
sensitive to mechanical damage than
small seeds
12

13. 3. Storage
Storability of seeds is mainly a genetically
regulated character and is influenced by
• Initial quality of the seed
• Moisture content of seed
• Ambient relative humidity
• Temperature of storage environment
• Duration of storage and biotic agents
These environmental conditions are very
difficult to maintain during storage. The
seed storage environment highly influences
the period of seed survival
After planting of deteriorate seeds,
seedling emergence may be poor and
transmission of pathogens to the new crop
may occur
13

14. Mechanisms of seed deterioration
Seed Deterioration
Biochemical events
Lipid peroxidation
Membrane disruption
Impairment protein
synthesis
Impairment of RNA
DNA damage
Result
Reduced germination
rate
Reduced field
emergence
Abnormality in
seedlings
seed death
14
Once seed deterioration has happened,
this catabolic process cannot be reversed.

15. Factor affecting deterioration
 Environmental factors during storage:-
• Temperature,
• Relative humidity
• Seed moisture content of seed
• Biological factors such as fungi, bacteria , algae and insects
 Other factors
• Environmental conditions during seed producing stage
• Seed oil content
• Storage longevity
• Mechanical damages of seed in processing
• Fluctuations in moisture
• Weathering
• Nutrient deficiencies
• Packaging
• Pesticides
• Improper handling
• Drying
• Biochemical injury of seed tissue can affect vigor of seeds
 Seed longevity is determined by seed moisture, temperature and seed attributes that are influenced by
genetic and environmental interactions during seed maturation, harvesting and storage (Walters et al., 2010)
15

16.  Normally, cryo-preserved materials are not immersed in liquid nitrogen for a variety of
practical reasons, but kept in the vapor over liquid nitrogen at about -150°C (Stanwood,
1985)
 The critical moisture level at which this occurs is called the high moisture freezing limit
(HMFL
 Damage is minimized by reducing the cooling rate to 8°C min or less, by sheathing the
cryovials with insulation (Vertucci, 1989)
1. Cryogenic Storage
 Theoretically, seed should remain viable for an
extraordinarily long time in liquid nitrogen at temperature
(-196°C), perhaps hundreds of years remain uninjured,
without any specific precautions
 Cryogenic storage is estimated to cost only one fourth as
much as conventional low-temperature (-18°C) storage
when averaged over 100 years (Stanwood and Bass, 1981)
Minimize seed deterioration
ORTHODOX SEEDS
16

17. 2. Hydration-Dehydration Treatments
 Seed priming involves restriction of
growth of imbibed seeds by regulation of
water potential, or temperature, for a
period of 4 to 15 days followed by
redrying
 Hydration-dehydration treatments are less
extreme than priming, and are defined
here as increasing Aw to about 0.9 or
higher for about one day, followed by
redrying
 Improve survival in field planting,
response to vigor tests, repair damage
from previous aging treatments (Dey and
Mukherjee, 1986) and reduce lipid
oxidation products (Saha, Mandal, and
Basu, 1990)
17

18. 3. Antioxidant Treatment
 If damage to seeds results from free
radical attack (Wilson and McDonald,
1986), antioxidants might be expected
to prolong the life of seeds
 Attempts to infuse water soluble
reducing agents into seeds have
revealed the effects of the agents to be
minor compared to the beneficial effect
of water alone (Basu and Das gupta,
1978)
 Infusion of lipid soluble antioxidants
into seeds using organic solvents has
occasionally reduced the rate of aging
(Bahler and Parrish, 1981)
18

19. 1. Moist or Imbibed Storage
 To be kept moist or at a high level of
moisture content. As such they present more
problems, especially with pests and diseases
 To survive when kept in moist conditions,
such as in moist media and, in extreme cases
and stored in water
 Rubber seeds immersed in water for a month
resulted in 60 percent germination (Ong and
Lauw, 1963)
 Cocoa seeds for three months in media have
sawdust, charcoal, and sand, moistened with
water. (King and Roberts, 1982)
RECALCITRANT SEED
19

20. 2. Partial Desiccation Technique
 Moisture content is lowered to 25 percent while others can be dried
to a lower moisture level. Hence instead of keeping them moist,
attempts have been made to partially dry them, i.e., surface drying
 Partial drying in air at a temperature of 20°C
 In the case of rubber, the seeds are processed, cleaned, soaked in
0.3 percent benlate, drained, and then surface dried to a moisture
content of 20 percent before storage at 20°C + 3°C
20

21. 3. Controlled atmosphere storage
 Over the years experts have experimented with storing seeds in
various gases but there is not as yet a single successful method for
practical application. Other methods have been tried, but with little
success. Seeds of cocoa have been sealed in their pods by waxing
the entire pod (Pyke et al., 1934)
 After processing and cleaning, it was sealed in a container, but
remained viable for barely a month (Soepadmo and Eow, 1976).
 Similarly, using carbon dioxide, has reported a slight improvement
in the storage life of cocoa seeds to 45 days (Villa, 1962)
 Rubber seeds in a carbon dioxide atmosphere with similar results.
From all these reports, it is unlikely that controlled atmosphere
storage will be of practical application in the storage of recalcitrant
seeds (Ong and Lauw, 1963)
21

22. Case study-1
 The soybean grains were harvested with moisture content around 18 % and dried
until 11.2, 12.8 and 14.8 % moisture content
 The grains were subsequently stored at the following conditions of relative
humidity(%) at different temperature for particular moisture content
Influence of different storage conditions on soybean
grain quality
Brazil Alencar et al. (2006)
Moisture
content (%)
Temperature (°C)
20 30 40
11.2 61.7 67.9 69.4
12.8 73.7 76.7 80.8
14.8 82.7 83.9 85.3
22
Table 1: Equilibrium relative humidity for each combination of moisture content and
temperature.

23. Table 2: Sour and damaged grains of soybean stored at temperature of 20, 30
and 40 ºC and moisture content 11.2, 12.8 and 14.8 % for 180 days.
Temp.
(°C)
M.C.
(%)
Storage period (Days)
0 45 90 135 180
SR DMG SR DMG SR DMG SR DMG SR DMG
20
11.2 0.5 1.5 0.2 0.9 0.3 1.4 0.3 1.3 0.3 0.5
12.8 0.5 2.2 0.2 0.7 0.3 0.7 0.2 0.5 0.3 0.9
14.8 0.3 1.6 0.3 1.2 0.4 1.2 0.2 0.8 0.4 0.9
30
11.2 0.8 1.7 0.2 0.9 0.4 1.1 0.2 0.5 0.3 0.4
12.8 0.7 1.1 0.3 1.1 0.3 1.1 0.4 0.6 0.3 0.4
14.8 0.8 1.2 0.4 1.2 1.9 4.2 1.3 2.5 2.5 3.6
40
11.2 0. 1.5 0.2 0.9 0.6 1.8 0.2 0.7 0.5 0.8
12.8 0.5 1.2 0.3 1.1 0.5 0.9 5.5 8.1 5.6 8.4
14.8 0.8 1.3 0.4 1.4 5.8 8.6 8.8 11.7 9.1 14.3
23
Brazil Alencar et al. (2006)
23

24. Case study-2
Deterioration of sunflower seeds during storage
Brazil Abreu et al. (2013)
Changes on quality of sunflower seeds, stored in different packaging types and
environmental conditions, were investigated
The packaging used were multiwall Kraft paper and plastic packaging (with and
without vacuum), under cold chamber and conventional storage conditions
Two hybrids: Helio 250 (high oil content) and Helio 251 (low oil content)
two environmental conditions: cold and dry chamber (constant temperature of 10
ºC; and 40% RH); and conventional storage facility (temperatures varying between
18 ºC and 20 ºC; and RH varying from 50% to 70%)
The seeds were stored into two type of packaging: multiwall Kraft paper (25 cm
x 15 cm); and transparent polyethylene bags (25 cm x 15 cm x 0.12 μ thick); this
last type of packaging was used with and without vacuum
Seed quality was evaluated by tests of: germination and accelerated aging
Changes in the sunflower seed quality were detected by the enzymatic systems:
alcohol dehydrogenase and superoxide dismutase
24

25. Fig.1: Oil content (%) of seeds of the sunflower hybrids Helio 250 (A) and Helio 251
(B) as function of storage periods (0 to 12 months) and storage conditions (cold
chamber = CC; conventional storage facilities = CSF; bags of multiwall Kraft
paper = MKP; plastic packaging = PP; and vacuum sealed plastic packaging =
VPP).
Brazil Abreu et al. (2013)
25

26. 26
Fig.2: Germination percentage of seeds of the sunflower hybrids Helio 250
(A) and Helio 251 (B) as function of storage periods (0 to 12 months)
and storage conditions (cold chamber = CC; conventional storage
facilities = CSF; bags of multiwall Kraft paper = MKP; plastic
packaging = PP; and vacuum sealed plastic packaging = VPP).
Abreu et al. (2013)
26
Brazil

27. Fig.3: Isoenzymes patterns of sunflower seeds of hybrids Helio 250 (A) and Helio 251 (B) subjected
to different storage periods (0, 4, 8 and 12 months) under different packaging and storage conditions
(T1 – plastic bag, into cold chamber; T2 – Kraft paper, into cold chamber; T3 – Vacuum, into cold
chamber; T4 – plastic bags, under conventional storage facilities; T5 – Kraft paper, under conventional
storage facilities; T6 – vacuum, under conventional storage facilities), which have been revealed for
the enzyme Alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH) and malate dehydrogenase (MDH).
Brazil Abreu et al. (2013)
27

28.  The storage under cold chamber conditions was more efficient in
maintaining physiological quality of sunflower seeds; and under
such environment, the Kraft paper packaging was the most
adequate
 The oil content in seeds decreases over time, regardless of storage
condition. The linoleic and oleic acids constituted 80% of the total
amount of fatty acids scanned
 Best results for germination were found for seeds of hybrid Helio
250, stored under conventional storage facility and packaged into
plastic bags, with or without oxygen restriction, in relation to seeds
packaged into multiwall paper bags
Brazil Abreu et al. (2013)
28

29. Case study-3
 The research work was carried to find out whether through pre
storage seed priming okra seed deterioration during storage may
be controlled or not
 Fully maturated okra seed were primed with water, PEG-8000
(Polyethylene glycol 8000) and Mannitol solutions
 Dry seeds were used as control
 After treatment, seeds were dried to initial moisture content (11%)
 And then evaluated at zero storage, three months and six months
storage for their unsaturated fatty acids, hexanal and proteins
Role of pre storage seed priming in controlling seed
deterioration during storage
Rahman et al. (2013)
29
Pakistan

30. Table 3: Percent unsaturated fatty acids content of okra seed as
affected by pre storage seed priming
Priming agent
Storage period
Mean
Percent
reduction
0 Month 3 Month 6 Month
PEG 61.18 59.19 53.38 57.91 12.74
Mannitol 60.91 56.39 49.51 55.60 18.71
Water 60.13 53.71 42.73 52.19 28.93
Unprimed 61.01 54.20 42.67 52.62 30.06
Mean 60.81 55.87 47.07
Rahman et al. (2013)
30
Pakistan

31. Table 4: Effect of pre storage seed priming on hexanal accumulation
(µ g Kg-1) in okra seed
Priming agent
Storage period
Mean
0 Month 3 Month 6 Month
PEG 0 0.82 13.33 4.71
Mannitol 0 1.57 20.33 7.30
Water 0 2.17 26.66 9.61
Unprimed 0 2.75 34.33 12.36
Mean 0 1.83 24.66
Rahman et al. (2013)
31
Pakistan

32. Table 5: Effect of seed priming and storage period on percent protein
content of okra seeds
Priming agent
Storage period
Mean
Percent
reduction
0 Month 3 Month 6 Month
PEG 23.35 22.80 21.54 22.56 7.75
Mannitol 22.87 21.82 19.16 21.28 16.22
Water 21.77 20.36 16.91 19.68 22.32
Unprimed 21.52 20.31 16.47 19.43 23.46
Mean 22.37 21.32 18.52
32
Rahman et al. (2013)
Pakistan

33. Case study-4
The effect of storage temperature and time on total
phenolics and enzymatic activity of sapodilla
(Achras sapota L.)
Colombia Camargo et al. (2016)
 The effect of different storage temperatures viz. 6, 10, 15, 21 and 27 °C
 Storage durations viz.0 to 20 days on total phenolics and enzymatic
activity of peroxidase (POD), catalase (CAT), and polyphenol oxidase
(PPO).
 The storage temperatures were 6, 10, 15, and 21 °C for 10 d for each
group. After that time, each group of fruit was stored at room temperature
(27 °C) to complete 20 d of storage. The fifth group (control sample) was
stored at 27 °C for 10 d, after this period, the fruits lost texture and there
was a considerable decrease in the concentration of total phenolics
compounds.
33

34. Fig.4: Behaviour of soluble proteins of
sapodilla (A. sapota L.) fruit stored at
different temperatures.
Fig.5: Behaviour of total phenols sapodilla
stored at different temperatures.
Colombia Camargo et al. (2016)
34

35. Fig.8:Polyphenol oxidase activity on sapodilla (A. sapota L.) fruit stored at different temperatures.
Fig.7: Catalase
activity on sapodilla
(A. sapota L.) fruit
stored at different
temperatures.
Fig.6: Peroxidase activity
sapodilla (A. sapota L.)
fruit stored at different
temperatures.
Colombia Camargo et al. (2016)
35

36. Case study-5
Maintaining dryness during storage contributes to
higher maize seed quality
Pakistan Afzal et al. (2017)
The performance of Purdue Improved Crop Storage (PICS) bags
for maize seed storage during a two-month period
 Seed moisture content increased in polypropylene bags while it
remained constant in PICS bags
Maize seeds of cultivar “Sarhad White” used in this study in CRD
design with three replication
Root and shoot lengths were measured 15 days after sowing.
Germination energy (%) was recorded by counting the number of
seedlings germinated the fourth day after the start of germination,
Assessment of losses due to insects, aflatoxin contamination
36

37. Moisture
content
(%)
Seed
with
damage
d
embryo
(%)
Germin
ation
(%)
Germin
ation
index
(GI)
Germinati
on energy
(%)
Root
lengt
h
(cm)
Shoot
length
(cm)
Initial 12.5 - 96 11.50 82.00 8.15 3
PICS bags 12.74 1.89 85.33 11.33 81.75 8.10 3
Polypropyl
ene bags
15.64 33.64 50.00 6.80 50.25 2.67 1.5
Table 6: Moisture content and germination attributes of maize seed stored in
PICS bags and polypropylene bags for two months
Pakistan Afzal et al. (2017)
37

38. Table 7: Live insect population, weight loss, and aflatoxin contamination of maize seed
stored in PICS bags and polypropylene bags for two months
Sitophilus
zeamais
(Live)
Tribolium
castaneum
(Live)
Rhyzopertha
dominica
(Live)
Weight
loss (%)
Aflatoxin
B1 (ng/g)
Aflatoxin
G2 (ng/g)
PICS bag 8 4 1 3 0.08 0.55
Polypropy-
lene bag
1378 16 8 35 0.53 1.13
Pakistan Afzal et al. (2017)
38

39. No change in germination was observed in maize seeds stored
in PICS bags while in polypropylene bags it was reduced in half
when compared to the initial germination
 Seed stored in polypropylene bags had higher insect damage
with a weight loss of 35% while in PICS bags the infestation was
minimal with a weight loss of about 3%
Higher aflatoxin contamination levels were observed in seeds
stored in polypropylene than PICS bags
Greater germination losses in polypropylene bags were due to
increased moisture content in prevailing high RH storage
conditions
Pakistan Afzal et al. (2017)
39

40. Conclusion
 Seed osmopriming controlled deterioration during storage as
compared to hydropriming and non-priming in okra seed
 The storage under cold chamber condition and conventional
storage facilities within plastic packaging, sealed under vacuum are
more efficient on preserving the physiological quality of sunflower
seeds
 Lowering the temperature reduce the activity of phenols and
concentration of soluble proteins in sapota seed
 Storing dry maize seeds in PICS even for couple of months will
maintain its moisture content, viability and vigor even in high relative
humidity and temperature conditions and no mold growth and insect
infestation
40

41. Thank You
41