DETERIORATION IN PEANUT (ARACHIS-HYPOGAEA L-CV FLORMAN) SEEDS UNDER NATURAL AND ACCELERATED AGING

Peanut seeds deteriorate rapidly during storage resulting in a loss of seed vigour. This research was established: a) to study the process o f deterioration in whole seeds, cotyledons, and embryonic axes of pean ut seeds subjected to natural and accelerated ageing, b) to analyze ch anges occurring in membranes under such conditions. The biochemical ch anges which take place in peanut seed membranes; aged both naturally a nd artificially, may be detected best in the embryonic axes, either th rough changes in leakage of electrolytes or in malondialdehyde (MDA) c ontent. Our results also indicate that there were no changes in the re lative proportion of oleic/linoleic acids in the axes after exposure t o accelerated ageing for various lengths of time. Germination percenta ge was not a sensitive assay for detecting the degree of deterioration in peanuts. These results demonstrate that changes in membrane integr ity associated with seed deterioration occur first in the embryonic ax es and can best be monitored by the conductivity seed vigour test.