Yg. Bai et al., Imbibition temperature affects winterfat (Eurotia lanata (Pursh) Moq.) seed hydration and cold-hardiness response, J RANGE MAN, 52(3), 1999, pp. 271-274
Winterfat (Eurotia lanata (Pursh) Meg.) diaspores harvested from 1 Canadian
and 2 USA sites were imbibed at 0, 5, 10, and 20 degrees C. It was hypothe
sized that imbibition temperature affects seed hydration which is related t
o cold-hardiness of winterfat, Weight gain was measured at 8-hour intervals
until full hydration, and embryo water content was determined. Water conte
nt of fully hydrated seeds differed among collections and lower imbibition
temperatures were always associated with greater seed water content. Differ
ences in water content of seeds imbibed at different temperatures was relat
ed to cold-hardiness. When water content of embryos was measured, differenc
es among imbibition temperatures existed, but were reduced. Differences in
seed water content among imbibition temperatures were mainly due to endospe
rm other than the embryo because the embryo hydrated faster than other seed
parts, Suggestions were made for modeling seed water relations based on th
is study.