Seeds deterioration kinetics

Viability time courses, collected at NCGRP for a large number of samples for more than 30 years, provide a rich source of informafion on the nature and kinetics of seed deterioration. Time courses follow a sigmoidal pattern, where a period of minor loss in viabilify precedes a cataclysmic phase where severe reductions in viability are observed. Recently, Avrami kinetics, which describe cooperative reactions based on visco-elastic properties (Avrami, 1941), have been used to describe the pattern of seed aging (Walters et al., 2004 Walters et al., 2005) ... 

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