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Water impermeable seed dormancy

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Abstract

Viable seeds that do not imbibe water and thus fail to germinate in an apparently favorable environment are commonly termed impermeable or hard seed. This physical, exogenous dormancy is especially common in species of the Fabaceae. The ecological significance of hard seed includes the ability to rapidly recolonize burnt areas after fire and to withstand ingestion by animals and birds. Advantages and problems that hard seed cause in agriculture are discussed. Species from different families with impermeable seeds appear to have in common a layer of macrosclerid cells that form a palisade layer in the testa. The term strophiole and its contradictory use in botanical literature are discussed. Genetic factors and environmental conditions both affect the proportion of impermeable seeds produced. Methods of artificially softening impermeable seeds include acid and solvent, soaking, mechanical scarification, pressure, percussion, freezing, heating, and radiation treatments that can result in a change in germination from less than 20% in some untreated species up to 90% or more in treated species. Natural softening involves high temperatures and temperature fluctuations and the degree of desiccation of the seed. The mechanism of water impermeability is related to the testa and is thought to involve waterproofing substances including wax, lignin, tannin, suberin, pectin, and quinone derivatives. The hilum acts as a hygroscopic valve that prevents water uptake but allows water loss to occur at low relative humidities in some species. The strophiole is an area of weakness in the testa of some Papilionoideae while the chalaza region has been determined as an area of weakness inPisum andGossypium. The water impermeable status of some species is reversible at a seed moisture content greater than 10%. The hard seed of a species can be described both in terms of the amount and the degree of impermeability.

Résumé

Les semences viable qui ne s’imbibent pas d’eau et qui par conséquent achouent de germiner dans un environment favorable sont généralement appelées semences impermeables ou dures. Cette exogène dormance physique est spéciallement commune dans les éspèces Fabaceae. L’importance ecologique de semences dures inclue leur capacité de recoloniser rapidement des surfaces brûlées et leur resistance à l’ingestion d’animaux et oiseaux. Les avantages et problèmes que les semences dures occasionment en agriculture sont discutés dans cet article. Des éspèces de differentes familles à semences impermeable semblent avoir en commun une couche de cellules macrosclérides qui forment une couche palissée dans leur tegument. Le terme “strophiole” et ses utilisations contradictoires dans la literature botanique sont soulevés. Les facteurs génétiques et les conditions du milieu affectent la proportion des semences impermeable produites. Les methodes d’amollissement artificielle des semences impermeables comprendent acide et trempage dans un dissolvent, scarification mécanique, pression, percussion, congélation, chauffage et traitements rayonnants peuvent aboutir à un changement en germination de moin 20%, dans quelques éspèces non traitées, jusqu’à 90% ou plus dans éspèces traitées. L’amollissement naturel comprend haute temperature, fluctuations de temperature et degré de desiccation de la semence. Le mécanisme de l’impérméabilité à l’eau est relatif au tégument et on croit qu’il implique des substances impermeables tel que, cire, lignins, tannins, suberine, pectine, et des derivées de quinines. Dans quelques espèces le hile fonctionne comme une valve hygroscopique qui empêche l’absorption d’eau mais permet au perte d’eau d’avoir lieu à des humidités relatives qui sont basses. La strophiole est une zone de faiblesse dans les téguments des Papilionoideae tandis que la region “cholaza” a été déterminée comme une zone de faiblesse dansPisum etGossypium. Dans quelques espèces les qualités de l’impérmeabilité d’eau sont reversibles à une capacité d’humidité de semence supérieure à 10%. La semence dure d’une éspèce peut être définie en terme de quantité et degré d’impermeabilité.

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  1. Crop Science Department, Oregon State University, 97331, Corvallis, Oregon, USA

    M. Philip Rolston

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Oregon Agricultural Experiment Station Technical Paper No. 4754.

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Rolston, M.P. Water impermeable seed dormancy. Bot. Rev 44, 365–396 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02957854

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