A study of the after-ripening of ‘egusi’ melon [Citrullus lanatus (Thunb.) Matsun and Nakai] fruits was undertaken at the Teaching and Research farm of the University of Agriculture Makurdi in the wet and dry season productions of 2005 and 2007. The aim was to monitor its effects on seed quality. Fruits were harvested at two leaf colour stages [i.e. when leaves started turning yellow (LTY), and...

Several studies have described quantitative trait loci (QTL) for seed size in wheat, but the relevant genes and molecular mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here we report the functional characterization of the wheat TaCYP78A3 gene and its effect on seed size. TaCYP78A3 encoded wheat cytochrome P450 CYP78A3, and was specifically expressed in wheat reproductive organs. TaCYP78A3 activity was pos...

Salicylic acid (SA) inhibited germination of cocklebur (Xanthium pennsylvanicum Wlr), lower seeds, which are completely after-ripened and nondormant. SA also inhibited ethylene production during a pre-germination period of the seeds. Exogenous ethylene overcame the inhibtion of the seed germination by SA. Moreover, SA reduced respiration in pre-germinating whole seeds as well as excised axial...

Seed dormancy is a mechanism underlying the inability of viable seeds to germinate under optimal environmental conditions. To achieve rapid and uniform germination, wheat and other cereal crops have been selected against dormancy. As a result, most of the modern commercial cultivars have low level of seed dormancy and are susceptible to preharvest sprouting when wet and moist conditions occur p...

Diseases caused by Alternaria sp. are among the most common diseases of crops throughout the world. Alternaria sp. is a common component of the flora of wheat seed. Although isolation of Alternaria sp. from wheat (Triticum aestivum) seed has been reported in Argentina, development of the Alternaria blight in plants from infected seeds has not been demonstrated experimentally. Seed transmission ...

Unweathered crop residues can produce growth-inhibiting substances, stimulate pathogen growth, and immobilize nutrients. The location of seed relative to residue may be an important factor in the early health of a crop. This greenhouse study simulated sowing conditions possible under annual dryland winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) production to evaluate the likelihood of inhibitory effects. ...

Tibetan semi-wild wheat (Triticum aestivum ssp. tibetanum Shao) is one of the Chinese endemic hexaploid wheat genetic resources, distributed only in the Qinghai-Xizang Plateau of China. It has special characters, such as a hulled glume and spike disarticulation. However, seed dormancy, another important character for wheat resistance to pre-harvest sprouting, was rarely reported. Seed dormancy ...

Orthodox seeds are living organisms that survive anhydrobiosis and may display dormancy, an inability to germinate at harvest. Seed germination potential can be acquired during a prolonged period of dry storage called after-ripening. The aim of this work was to determine if gene transcription is an underlying regulatory mechanism for dormancy alleviation during after-ripening. To identify chang...

Evaluating the merits of the wheat seed is an important significance for wheat breeding. We studied analytic hierarchy process (AHP) for seeds grading by digital image processing techniques in the paper. Firstly, preprocess the collected wheat seed images; extract some parameters, such as area, plumpness, rectangular, and elongation of the seed, and then build the level model. Experiments showe...

Changes in the levels of thiamin-binding globulin and thiamin in wheat seeds during maturation and germination were studied. The thiamin-binding activity of the seed proteins increased with seed development after flowering. The thiamin content of the seeds also increased with development. Thiamin-binding activity decreased during seed germination. On the other hand, immunological analysis using...