COMPARATIVE LONGEVITY OF SEEDS OF 5 TROPICAL RAIN-FOREST WOODY SPECIES STORED UNDER DIFFERENT MOISTURE CONDITIONS

Seeds of five plant species from the tropical rain forest of southeast ern Mexico were stored for up to 7 years under two divergent moisture regimes at room temperature: (i) air-dried seeds were stored in paper bags and (ii) water-imbibed seeds were stored in Petri dishes kept in total darkness. Seeds in the latter regime remained dormant because of an absolute requirement of light for germination. Another experiment involved the storage of seeds of one of the species in a gradient of i ntermediate moisture conditions within glass chambers. Results indicat e that water-imbibed seeds retain viability for a longer time than any of the other moisture levels employed. This agreed with observations made on photoblastic lettuce seeds by other authors.