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. 2020 Mar 20;9(3):386.
doi: 10.3390/plants9030386.

A Correlative Study of Sunflower Seed Vigor Components as Related to Genetic Background

Marine Saux  1 , Benoît Bleys  2 , Thierry André  2 , Christophe Bailly  1 , Hayat El-Maarouf-Bouteau  1
Affiliations

A Correlative Study of Sunflower Seed Vigor Components as Related to Genetic Background

Marine Saux et al. Plants (Basel). .

Abstract

Seed vigor is an important trait that determines seed performance in the field, which corresponds to seed germination rate and seedling establishment. Previous works brought helpful equations to calculate several parameters allowing vigor characterization. In this work we used base water potential (Ψb), base temperature (Tb) and seed lot (Ki) constants to characterize the vigor of 44 sunflower seed lots. Contrasting responses to water or temperature stress and storage potential were recorded within this population, the most interesting being the opposite responses between Ψb and Ki. The genotypes that were resistant to water stress presented low ability for storage and vice versa. Furthermore, Ψb and Ki presented narrow ranges while Tb showed important variability within the 44 genotypes. The analysis of the whole dataset showed that these constants are not correlated to each other or to the seed size, suggesting that genetic background is the most important determining factor in seed performance. Consequently, vigor characterization of genotypes is needed in the crop selection process in order to optimize agricultural productivity.

Keywords: genotype; seed; vigour.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Germination curves of 2 sunflower genotypes, Helianthus annuus sp. SOLQUA-160 (A) and SOLQUA-165 (B) Water stress (−0.4 MPa; −0.6 MPa; −0.8 MPa; −1 MPa; −1.2 MPa) was applied during germination at 20 °C in comparison to the control on water (0 MPa).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Germination curves of 2 sunflower genotypes, Helianthus annuus sp. SOLQUA-160 (A) and SOLQUA-165 (B) Temperature stress (5, 10, 15, 25, 30 and 35 °C) was applied during germination in comparison to the control on water at 20 °C.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Germination curves of 2 sunflower genotypes, Helianthus annuus sp. SOLQUA-160 (A) and SOLQUA-165 (B) Accelerated ageing (AA) was applied for 1, 3, 4 or 7 days (as compared to the control 0, which corresponded to non-aged seeds); germination tests were then performed on water at 20 °C.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Hierarchical clustering on principal components analysis using seed trait parameters Ψb, Tb and Ki of the 44 genotypes. Genotypes are represented by numbers, according to Table 1.
Figure 5
Figure 5
Boxplot presentation of frequency statistical analysis of Ψb, Tb and Ki values of the 44 genotypes.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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    1. ISTA Vigour Test Committee . Handbook of Vigour Test Methods. International Seed testing Association; Zurich, Switzerland: 1995. Understanding Seed Vigour.
    1. ISTA Vigour Test Committee . International Rules for Seed Testing. International Seed testing Association; Zurich, Switzerland: 2015. Chapter 15 Seed vigour testing.

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