Seed Longevity and Deterioration

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Nuffic NFP Training on Seed Technology

October 2019, Steven P.C. Groot & Henk W.M. Hilhorst

 How can plants/plant communities establish (and maintain) themselves in 
various environments?

Drought, salt, flooding…
Seeds germinate when place and time 
are right

Seeds can sense the environment
Seeds adjust their germination 
behavior to the specific environment…
…like whole plant phenotypes do

NATURAL VARIATION
Natural variation, a great genetic resource

A broad geographic distribution encompasses substantial variation in 
growth environments, hence, phenotypic variation among accessions 
is expected to reflect genetic variation important for adaptation to 
specific conditions. 
 Example: natural variation for dormancy in Arabidopsis 
thaliana

Dormancy

Lecture Leonie Bentsink
6
 What is seed dormancy?

A temporary failure of a seed to germinate

under favourable conditions

ENVIRONMENT METABOLISM DORMANCY

favorable active non‐dormant

stress resistant unfavorable inactive dormant

season
dry vs wet
flooded vs non‐flooded
hot vs cold
The expression of dormancy depends on the net result
of two opposing forces:
Radicle

Endosperm cap
Embryo

Endosperm Germinated

‘thrust’ of the embryo resistance of the tissues surrounding

the embryo, including endosperm,
testa, pericarp, etc.
 Timing and spacing of emergence of plants from
seeds

Germination and Dormancy
environmental regulation
The occurrence of dormancy throughout the world 
 Primary; Exogenous; Physical dormancy

Inhibition of water uptake

Impermeable seed coat

Plug
Cap
Waxy layer
Rhus glabra
Li et al., (1999) American Journal of
Botany, 86,1999), pp. 1505-1511.
 Primary; Exogenous; Mechanical dormancy

Mechanical restraint to embryo expansion and radicle protrusion

Tomato (Solanum esculentum) Puncture force
measurement
0.7
Radicle
0.6 protrusion
0.5
Puncture force (N)

0.4

0.3

0.2
0 15 30 45 60
Imbibition time (h)
Primary; Endogenous; Morpho-Physiological dormancy
3. Differentiated embryo: has to grow inside the seed to attain radicle protrusion

April September October November December

Growing Annona crassiflora embryo

(da Silva et al., 2007)
Combinational dormancy: Coffea arabica
Morpho-physiological and mechanical dormancy

The embryo grows inside the

seed…

3 days 6 days 9 days 9 days 25 days

During germination After germination
 Combinational dormancy: Coffea arabica

…but experiences a mechanical restraint from the

surrounding endosperm…

1.4
Required puncture force (N)

1.2

1.0

0.8
…which decreases
0.6
Water
concomitantly with the
growth of the embryo
0.4
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9

Imbibition (d)
Dormancy and the role of ABA
 ABA signaling is involved in many processes of the seed’s life
cycle, including stress responses, protein synthesis, dormancy
and germination

ABA
germinability
fertilization desiccation
tolerance
synthesis of reserve proteins
dormancy
MORPHOGENESIS

HISTO-DIFFERENTIATION MATURATION DRYING

Seed Development (time)

…and inhibition of ABA synthesis promotes germination
Caffea arabica
Control
100
1000µM-ABA
100µM-ABA
10µM-ABA
80
50 M Fluridone
Fluridone+ABA
Germination (%)

60

40

20

0 3 6 9 12 15
Da Silva et al., 2004
Time (d)
(Fluridone inhibits ABA synthesis)
DORMANCY: SOME PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS
 Too much dormancy: seed quality problem

Domestication and breeding

changes the appearance and
performance of crop seeds
dramatically

Current crop breeding programs

often use wild fore bearers to
introduce enhanced resistance
Zea parviglumis Zea mays
to stress. This may also
introduce unwanted traits such
as dormancy
 Too little dormancy: seed quality problem
• Precocious germination of grains prior to harvest.
• Occurs when cool moist conditions persist close to
the time of harvest
• Causes economic losses in grain quality for baking
• Prevalent in cultivars with low grain dormancy
• White wheat has less dormancy than red wheat
Regulation and Mechanisms
Breaking of dormancy and induction of 
germination

• Temperature
• Light
• Nitrate
• Smoke

D D ND
Germination Seedling
completed
Arabidopsis thaliana Cvi

196d
133d
78d
29d
Dry after‐ripening increases the seed’s 
sensitivity to the environment: e.g. nitrate
0d

nitrate 20 °C
4d, 3°C

water

Finch‐Savage et al. Plant Journal, 2007
Dry after‐ripening (AR) widens temperature 
optimum for germination
Phleum arinarium germination after 1, 6 or 13 
months of AR at 15 °C and 15% rh

1 6 13

Probert, 2001
The maternal environment during seed development may influence dormancy and 
longevity status of the dispersed seed
Germination behaviour of freshly harvested wild-type seeds matured at 10°C,
15°C, and 20°C and the response to cold stratification, and ABA signaling

20 °C
ABA‐biosynthesis genes
15 °C

10 °C ABA‐degradation genes

NCED4 CYP707/a2

ABA

Kendall S L et al. Plant Cell 2011;23:2568-2580

 Pfr
Ecological relevance of = φ
Ptot

Spectral distribution of light 
under leaf canopy
Neighbor detection and avoidance of  Decrease of φ (and germination) with 
competition increasing LAI
 The role of light: phytochrome

red
660 nm
Pr Pfr Germination
730 nm
far‐red

inactive active

The extent of germination is 
determined by:

Pfr Pfr
= = φ
Pr + Pfr Ptot © Peter v. Sengbusch 
b‐online@botanik.uni‐hamburg.de
Penetration of light in the soil is very low

Source: The penetration of light into soil April 2006
Plant Cell and Environment 10(4):281 ‐ 286

How can light‐requiring seeds in the seed bank be induced to germinate when 
they are buried at lower depths? 
Germination may be induced by disturbance of the soil, allowing the seeds to perceive a 
short exposure to light.

Tillage in the dark Tillage in the light

2% coverage 80% coverage
 Relationship between nitrate content of 
soil and seed and germination

Bouwmeester, 1990

Hilhorst and Karssen, 1990
 Smoke and GA

Karrikins (KAR: 3-methyl-2H-furo[2,3-c]pyran-2-one)

Butenolide family molecule

“karrik (smoke)”

No distinct structural similarity to

known plant hormones

Partially related to strigolactone, a new

class of plant hormone stimulating
Striga and Orobanche seed germination

Nelson et al., 2009; Plant Physiology 149: 863-873

 New Plant Growth Regulator

Effective to Arabidopsis, a non-fire prone species

Effective at 1 uM, 100-fold more effective than strigolactones

KNO3 + KAR1

KAR1, 2, 3
KNO3

GR24

GA4

KAR4

Arabidopsis (Ler) primary dormant seeds

Nelson et al., 2009; Plant Physiology 149: 863-873

Questions?

© Wageningen UR
Contact
ContactDetails
Details
Dr. Steven P.C. Groot

Wageningen Plant Research, Wageningen UR

Building 107, Droevendaalsesteeg 1,

Visiting Address
6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands
P.O. box 16,
Mail Address
NL 6700 AA Wageningen, The Netherlands

Phone +31 317 480 833

Cell phone +31 646 202 467

Email steven.groot@wur.nl

Website www.seedcentre.nl; www.wur.nl/en