• Journal of Biosystems Engineering
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• v.39 no.4
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• pp.304-309
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• 2014

Purpose: Weeds cause significant losses in agricultural production. In this study, we investigated the effect of microwaves on the germination rates of cress and arugula seeds to determine whether microwaves could be developed as an effective alternative to conventional chemical-based herbicides. Methods: Seeds were planted at equal depths (8-10 mm) in a soil-turf mixture, and seeds were exposed to microwaves for 126 s, 70 s, and 50 s in a device constructed specifically for this study. A microwave tunnel was built using a variable speed conveyor belt and 4 magnetrons with a combined output power of 2.8 kW. Seeds that were not exposed to microwaves were germinated with regulated irrigation, temperature, and humidity controls in parallel with the treated seeds, and the germination rates were compared among the treatment groups. Results: We found that the exposure of cress and arugula seeds to microwaves for 126 s inhibited germination close to 100%. Cress seeds treated with microwaves for 50 s showed 95% germination compared to 65% germination of the untreated cress seeds. Conclusions: We predict that the thermal effect of microwave energy affects the germination ratio and germination rate of seeds.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.31 no.6
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• pp.700-705
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• 2013

This study was initiated to evaluate hydrophilic polymers (hydrogels) as a new solid matrix medium for seed-priming of Heteropappus arenarius Kitam. Solid matrix priming (SMP)-media were prepared with the combination of Na- and K-based hydrogels and hydrogels with three different dry levels (DC; 70%, 80%, and 90%). Priming was performed in the dark at 15 or $20^{\circ}C$ for 24 hours, and all primed seeds were incubated at $20^{\circ}C$ in the dark for the germination test. Non-primed seeds and seeds primed with distilled water (DW) were also included. To reach the germination rate of 50% ($T_{50}$), it took 4.0 days for non-primed seeds, and 3.6 and 3.9 days for DW-primed seeds at 15 and $20^{\circ}C$, respectively. Na-based hydrogel-primed seeds with 70% DC (Na 70%) showed the fastest germination, which respectively took and 1.9 and 1.8 days at 15 and $20^{\circ}C$ to $T_{50}$. K-based hydrogel-primed seeds with 70% DC showed the fastest germination among K-based hydrogels with various DC levels, but it took 0.6 days more to $T_{50}$ compared to Na 70%. The hydration rate (HR) of DW-primed seeds was 37% lower than that of Na 70%-primed seeds at $15^{\circ}C$ priming temperature, which indicates that Na 70% priming is the best solid matrix priming condition for promoting the germination of H. arenarius seeds.

• KOREAN JOURNAL OF CROP SCIENCE
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• v.49 no.5
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• pp.373-380
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• 2004

The production of sweet (su) and super sweet corns (sh2) has been economically feasible in Korea in recent years. Major factors limiting super sweet corn production are low germination and low seedling vigor. Since seed quality is closely related to seed maturity, the optimum harvest time for the seed production of sweet and super sweet corns was studied and the quality of seeds with varying maturities was investigated in 2001 and 2002 cropping seasons. The parents of the sweet corn seeds were Hybrid Early Sunglow and 'Golden Cross Bantam 70' and those of super sweet corn were Xtrasweet 82 and 'For­tune'. Seeds were harvested at 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, and 56 days after silking (DAS). As the seeds developed, seed weight of sweet corn increased and the seed moisture content decreased faster than that of super sweet corn. Germination rates of sweet corn seeds harvested 21 and 28 DAS at $25^{\circ}C$ and emergence rates in the cold soil test were significantly lower than those of seeds harvested after 42 DAS in both years. Although the germination rates of super sweet corn seeds with varying maturities showed similar patterns as sweet corn seeds at $25^{\circ}C$, the emergence rate of super sweet corn seeds in cold soil test continuously increased with seed maturity. This suggests that seed quality of super sweet corn should be tested in a cold soil test to estimate field emergence. As the seeds developed, leakage of total sugars and electrolytes from the both sweet and super sweet corn seeds decreased up to 42 or 49 DAS. The $\alpha-amylase$ activities of both sweet and super sweet corn seeds increased with seed maturity from 21 to 35 or 49 DAS depending on genotype and year. The optimum harvest time for the seed production of sweet corn was 42 DAS and 49 DAS for super sweet corn considering emergence rate and plumule dry weight in the cold soil test, leakage of sugars and electrolytes from the seeds, and $\alpha-amylase$ activity.

• Korean Journal of Breeding Science
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• v.42 no.5
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• pp.439-447
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• 2010

Riptortus clavatus, one of the many insects in major crops, damages pods and seeds, which reduces seed vigor and viability in soybeans. This study was conducted to examine the effect of diversely damaged seeds by R. clavatus on seed germination and seedling emergence and to determine the association of damaged seed with quality and yield of soybean sprouts. All seeds damaged by R. clavatus significantly (P<0.05) reduced seed vigor as measured by the rates of seed germination, germination speed, and seedling emergence. Mean seed germination rate of non-damaged seeds in sprout-soybean varieties was 97.8%, whereas the rates of seeds damaged at different levels, 31-50% and 51-80%, were 23.0 and 5.4%, respectively. The rates of seedling rot and abnormal, incomplete germination significantly (P<0.05) increased as the amount of seeds damaged by R. clavatus increased to 5, 10 and 15% against the total seeds for sprout production. Yield of soybean sprouts from seeds damaged at different levels decreased up to 13% as compared to that in normal seeds. In customer preferences on soybean sprout produce, 84% of customers participated in survey preferred to purchase sprouts from seeds with 5% of damaged seeds, but sprouts produced from seeds with 15% of damaged seeds were intended to purchase only by 22% of the customers. Areas of the seed damaged by R. clavatus were readily infected by pathogens as the seed germinated, resulted in deteriorated quality and reduced yield of sprout produce.

• Korean Journal of Organic Agriculture
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• v.27 no.1
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• pp.1-16
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• 2019

The questionnaire survey was conducted on 225 farmers in Gyeonggi-do, Jeollanam-do and Jeollabuk-do. A total of 189 (84%) farmers responded. 72% of the respondents were males, 50.3% were aged 60 or older, and 51.3% had less than 5 years of farming experience. 78.8% of the respondents are pesticide-free, and 44.4% of respondents have less than 0.5 ha of farming scale. 61.4% of the cultivated crops were vegetable crops. The order of seeds and seedlings to buy was tomato (23.3%), cucumber (12.2%) and pepper (10.6%). The cost of purchasing seeds ranged from a minimum of 100,000 won to a maximum of 5 million won. 78.3% of respondents answered that they well-knew or knew about organic seeds. 78.3% of respondents answered that they knew or knew about organic seeds. Of the positive effects of mandatory use of organic seeds, 41.3% of respondents said they would increase confidence in organic certification. However, 41% of respondents who opposed the mandatory use of organic seeds said that "The strengthening of regulations will make organic agriculture more difficult." When the use of organic seeds is mandatory, 43.4% of the respondents favor direct support for the purchase of organic seeds, which should be supported politically by the state. When organic seeds were supplied, the disease resistant seeds (53.4%) was the preferred characteristic of organic seeds. For the optimal price of organic seeds, 38.6% of respondents wanted the same price as the commercialized conventional seed. In this study, the questionnaire was conducted for three major organic farming regions, but many of the respondents were judged to have a legal position on the mandatory use of organic seeds. Therefore, the results of this study can be used as a basic data for reviewing the legislation on the organic seed production and distribution suitable for the situation of Korean organic farming.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.31 no.7
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• pp.569-577
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• 2022

This study aimed to evaluate the growth of Cichorium intybus, Brassica juncea, and Lactuca sativa at varying seed ratios, and to suggest an efficient management plan for sustainable indoor agriculture systems. It was treated with mixed sowing as follows: 30 chicory seeds (chicory alone: CC), 22 chicory seeds + 8 lettuce seeds (C₃L₁), 20 chicory seeds + 10 lettuce seeds (C₂L₁), 15 chicory seeds + 15 lettuce seeds (C₁L₁) as intraspecies, and 30 mustard seeds (mustard alone: MC), 22 mustard seeds + 8 lettuce seeds (M₃L₁), 20 mustard seeds + 10 lettuce seeds (M₂L₁), 15 mustard seeds + 15 lettuce seeds (M₁L₁) as interspecies. The study identified the competitive response in seed germination between Cichorium intybus and Lactuca sativa, and in the C₃L₁ experimental group, Lactuca sativa had the highest leaf length, root length, chlorophyll content, and fresh weight. Therefore, the higher the ratio of Cichorium intybus, the higher the growth and productivity of Lactuca sativa; however, higher the ratio of Lactuca sativa, the lower the growth of Cichorium intybus. Furthermore, the nitrogen and potassium content in the substrate was the highest in the C₃L₁ experimental grorp which had the highest seeding rate of the Cichorium intybus. Comparing the groups Brassica juncea and Lactuca sativa, the higher the seeding ratio of Lactuca sativa, the higher the growth and productivity of Brassica juncea. Therefore, a companion seeding of Brassica juncea and Lactuca sativa is beneficial; this could be effective in having a high seeding ratio of Lactuca sativa.

• Journal of Forest and Environmental Science
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.151-156
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• 2011

Seeds of Xanthoceras sorbifolia Bunge were collected from two plantations and two superior trees in Inner Mongolia: and one plantation and one superior tree in Liaoning, China in late August, 2011. Yellowhorn or goldenhorn is an important tree species, from the aspects of source of edible oil and biodiesel and pioneering capacity of degraded and desert land. Characteristics investigated were seed length, width, and weight: weight and volume of 1,000 seeds: and weight and volume of one-liter seeds. The seeds of Qingsonglingxiang No. 1, growing alone in an open space, showed the highest values in seed length (16.08 mm), width (14.48 mm) and weight (1.40 g), while those of Tree No. 160 in Ar Khorqin Banner were the lowest ones: that is, 11.48mm for length, 11.81 mm for width, and 0.73 g for weight, respectively. Traits of seeds varied quite much between trees and among areas; for example, Tree No. 38 and No. 160 produced quite different seeds in several traits, although they are adjacent to each other in the same farm. Weight of 1,000 seeds varied from 718.0 g to 1,010.1 g and volume from 0.76 L to 1.52 L. Weight of one-liter seeds were 522.3 g to 688.2 g, while the number of seeds were 603 to 935. Seeds which were soaked in the water at $4^{\circ}C$ for 2 days showed the highest germination rate (89%) in a 30-day test, which was about 10% to 40% higher than those of non-treatment and dipping treatment at $36^{\circ}C$ followed by keeping under room temperature for 2 days. 81% of seeds in the wet sand at room temperature germinated, while 23% of seeds deprived of seed coat germinated. It is necessary to understand seed traits to select superior clones or provenances for the increased, unfluctuating production of seed.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.47 no.3
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• pp.475-480
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• 2005

Surface sowing is one of the most important methods to establish and improve grassland. An interest in seed-coating technique for surface sowing has been increased tremendously in the world today. An experiment was conducted to develop a technique for pelleting seeds for pasture production in woodlands. Results showed that pelleting seeds was a better technique than coating seeds because the pelleting reduced coating time of seeds, and it increased the amounts of coated seeds per hour. The pelleting technique was able to minimize damage to seeds through the lower temperature processing and by reducing time for drying, thus, germinating energy, and germination rate of pelleted alfalfa seeds improved. Emergence, establishment, and early growth of alfalfa from pelleted seeds were also improved in woodlands. Based on this study, we could conclude that the seed-pelleting is a very useful technique for the establishment and early growth of alfalfa in woodlands.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.4 no.5
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• pp.369-374
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• 2010

Grape is one of the most popular and widely cultivated fruits in the world. Although grape skin and seeds are waste product of the winery and grape juice industry, these wastes contain large amounts of phytochemicals such as flavonoids, phenolic acids, and anthocyanidins, which play an important role as chemopreventive and anticancer agents. We evaluated efficacies of grape skin and seeds on hepatic injury induced by dimethylnitrosamine (DMN) in rats. Treatment with DMN significantly increased levels of serum alanine transaminase, aspartate transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, and bilirubin. Diet supplementation with grape skin or seeds (10% daily for 4 weeks) prevented these elevations. The grape skin and seeds also restored serum albumin and total protein levels, and reduced the hepatic level of hydroxyproline and malondialdehyde. Furthermore, grape skin and seeds reduced DMN-induced collagen accumulation, as estimated by histological analysis of liver tissue stained with Sirius red. Grape skin and seeds also reduced hepatic stellate cell activation, as assessed by ${\alpha}$-smooth muscle actin staining. In conclusion, grape skin and seeds exhibited in vivo hepatoprotective and antifibrogenic effects against DMN-induced liver injury, suggesting that grape skin and seeds may be useful in preventing the development of hepatic fibrosis.

• Horticultural Science & Technology
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.830-839
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• 2016

Germination of Hemerocallis seeds as influenced by cold stratification at $5^{\circ}C$ (CS) and maturity of seeds evaluated using X-ray imaging has not been well investigated. Seeds of H. lilioasphodelus, H. citrina, H. citrina 'April Flower', and H. minor collected from China and H. thunbergii collected from Korea were germinated at $20^{\circ}C$ without pre-temperature treatment, while H. hongdoensis, H. dumortieri, H. minor, and H. vespertina seeds were treated with CS. Harvesting 'Stella de Oro' capsules at 35-40 days after anthesis yielded mature seeds with well-developed embryo and cotyledons analyzed by X-ray images with a 92% germination in 17 days after sowing. Seeds of H. thunbergii and H. citrina germinated in less than 13 days without CS; two weeks of CS did not accelerate seed germination. Seeds of H. hongdoensis germinated in 24 days when seeds were stored at $25^{\circ}C$ without CS and in less than 27 days when cold stratified. Therefore, 'Stella de Oro' capsules should be harvested at 35-40 days after anthesis to harvest mature seeds. Cold stratification is not required to accelerate seed germination in the Hemerocallis taxa evaluated in this study.