Ma. Perez et Ja. Arguello, DETERIORATION IN PEANUT (ARACHIS-HYPOGAEA L-CV FLORMAN) SEEDS UNDER NATURAL AND ACCELERATED AGING, Seed science and technology, 23(2), 1995, pp. 439-445
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.