Y. Saranga et al., LARGE SUNFLOWER SEEDS ARE CHARACTERIZED BY LOW EMBRYO VIGOR, Journal of the American Society for Horticultural Science, 123(3), 1998, pp. 470-474
The cause for the differences in germination ability of large and smal
l confection sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) seeds was investigated o
ver 3 years. The source-sink relationship was manipulated to better ex
plore the differences between seeds of various sizes and to study the
role of the embryo and the pericarp (hull) in controlling germination
ability. Percent germination of large seeds was significantly lower th
an that of small seeds when tests were performed at 15 degrees C. Incr
easing the ratio of leaf area to number of developing seeds caused an
increase in mean seed mass, but resulted in a lower percentage of germ
ination. Seed vigor, as measured by mean time to germination or to eme
rgence of hulled seeds or by rate of root elongation, was negatively c
orrelated with embryo mass, indicating that the low vigor of large see
ds is not due to the mechanical barrier imposed by the hull, Analysis
of electrolyte leakage confirmed the hypothesis that the low quality o
f large seeds results from a disturbance during the process of seed de
velopment.