SEED VIABILITY 

Seed viability may be defined as the capability of the seed to germinate and produce a normal seedling for some specific period of time. 

The viability of the seed accession is a measure of how many seeds are alive and could develop into plants which will reproduce themselves, given the appropriate conditions.


Factors affecting seed viability :

- Harvesting of seed 

- Duration between investing and threshing methods of threshing. 

- Moisture content and relative humidity of the stored seed. 

- Age of seed.

- Temprature of the stored seed.

- Aeration of the stored house.

- Contaminate of the seed.

- Chemical treatment.



Causes of less viability: 

- Degeneration of enzymes. 

- Disappearance of stored food. 

- Abnormal seed coat. 

- Loss of power to protect the protoplasmic molecule from the inert molecule.

- Gradual Coagulation of protein of Embrys.




Seed viability Test : 


Seed viability test (%) = ( F + A + G ) / X * 100

Where :- 

F = Number of fresh seed.

A= Number of abnormal seed. 

G= Number of seed germinated.

X= Number of seed sown ( excluding empty and infested) 

                

                            Seed viability test

- Tetrazolium test (Tz)

- Germination test 

- Cut test 

- X - ray analysis 

- Spectral imaging

- Ferric chloride test for mechanical damage.

- Indoxyl acetate test for seed coat damage Non-invasive diagnosis of seed viability using infrared thermography.