[Objective] To study the long-term ultra-dry storage method and genetic stability of vegetable seeds.[Method] Seeds of Lycopersicum esculentum,Raphanus satuvus and Apium graveolen.were chosen as material.The changes of seed vigor,viability and genetic stability after ultra-storage were discussed by studying the seed potentiality,shoot length,germination percentage and the chromosome aberration rate of root tip cells.[Results] Maintaining the low moisture content,different vegetable species had different storage effects of the long-term storage seeds under normal temperature.The Lycopersicum esculentum and Raphanus satuvus seeds were more suitable to ultra-dry storage at normal temperature,and could keep good genetic stability,while the seeds of Apium graveolen had bad performance.[Conclusion] This study established the foundation of studying ultra-dry storage of vegetable seeds.
This study was to understand the physiological changes of four kinds of crop seeds including baby corn, cowpea, radish and rape- seed, under the treatment of ultra-drying. Large amounts of seeds as experimental materials （ 10 kg for each material） were respectively dried to the suitable water content consistent with the ultra-dried seed criterion via heating at 50 ~C; then the physiological indices of these ultra-dried seeds such as water content, seed germination, dehydrogenase activity and SOD activity were measured. The results showed that except cowpea seeds, whose ultra-drying treatment should be controlled between two and four days, other three kinds of seeds were tolerant to high tem- perature and low water content. The ultra-dried seeds assumed similar or even higher activities than CKs, but showed no damage symptom. Our result proves that ultra-drying treatment via heating at 50 ℃ is safe and efficient to experimental seeds.
