The basis of seed vigour and
vigour testing
Alison A Powell
University of Aberdeen
United Kingdom
Battleships built in Aberdeen:
Ryūjō (1864) and Hosho Maru: Japanese navy
Kagoshima: for Satsuma clan
Japan Brewery Company, later
the Kirin Brewery Company Ltd
Glover whisky
1st Scottish-Japanese blend, 2015
Hanyu distillery in Japan
Longmorn and Glen Garioch
Ship building company that became
Mitsubishi Corporation of Japan
What links Aberdeen with Nagasaki?
Thomas Glover (1838 – 1911)
The Scottish Samurai
Order of the Rising Sun,
1908 Japan
Outline
• Background to vigour in the ISTA Rules
• What vigour differences mean – In the field
– In transplant production
– In storage
• Summary of effects of vigour
• Requirements of a vigour test
• Types of vigour test
• Vigour tests in use
• What do vigour tests tell us?
• The aim of our presentations
Summary of the History of Vigour
• 1876: Friedrich Nobbe:‘Triebcraft’, driving force
• 1950: ISTA President WJ Franck - ISTA
Biochemical and Seedling Vigour Committee
• Many years discussion and debate!
• 2001: ISTA Ordinary Meeting accepted Seed
Vigour Testing as Chapter 15 in the ISTA Rules
ISTA definition of vigour (2001)
Seed vigour is the sum of those properties that determine the
activity and performance of seed lots of acceptable
germination in a wide range of environments
Make comparisons of the performance of
commercial seed lots with acceptable germination
Species No. of lots Range among lots in :
Normal
germination (%)
Field
emergence (%)
Garden pea 80 >80 8-85
Green bean 90 75-100 34-93
Soybean 18 83-96 17-88
Maize 29 92-98 48-98
Oilseed rape 9 89-99 65-93
Onion 12 77-92 46-72
Lettuce 22 88-98 27-71
Cabbage 31 80-98 7-78
Cauliflower 12 85-96 10-64
Germination and field emergence of commercial seed lots
Emergence differences: Maize
Low vigour
High vigour
Photo courtesy E. Noli
Wide-spaced crop; Non-tillering
Low emergence due to low vigour means yield penalty
High vigour
Guerbiny
Northern France
Photo courtesy
T. Loeffler
Emergence differences: Phaseolus vulgaris
High vigour Low vigour
Photo courtesy C. Gallo
Emergence differences: chickpea (Cicer arietinum)
Photos courtesy S. Goertz
High vigour Low vigour
Emergence differences: Oilseed rape (Brassica napus )
26 March 2012 9 April 2012 23 April 2012
Low
vigour High
vigour
Yield differences: due to emergence
and plant development? Low
vigour
Low
vigour
High
vigour
High
vigour Oilseed rape
Field sown lettuce: Impact on marketable yield
60- 90% of variation in head weight due to variation in timing of emergence Gray (1976) Annals of Applied Biology 82, 569–575
Tagetes
Photos courtesy H. Ilbi
Transplant production
Requires large uniform seedlings
Cabbage
High vigour Low vigour
Melon
High vigour Low vigour
Photo courtesy of J. Marcos Filho
Lettuce
High vigour
Low vigour
Photos courtesy of J. Marcos Filho
Species Normal
germination
(%)
Mean
emergence
time (days)
Emergence
(%)
Plant height
(mm) at first
leaf stage
Variation in
plant height
(CV)
White cabbage
98
4.4
98
21.1
27.0
93 5.3 92 18.2 36.9
Cauliflower 98 4.4 92 26.7 21.5
91 6.2 88 19.8 25.9
Brussels sprouts 98 4.2 100 30.8 23.9
87 5.0 44 23.2 27.7
Red cabbage 97 4.6 98 25.6 22.1
85 5.7 100 16.8 32.5
Calabrese 93 4.1 92 21.1 20.5
88 4.6 91 21.0 25.6
Transplant module emergence of Brassica species
(50 modules per lot)
Bell pepper
Low vigour High vigour
Photo courtesy I Demir
Normal germination (13 seed lots) 88 – 99%
Low temperature sowing date (13 seed lots) (min /
max temperature 11/ 23oC)
Emergence 71 - 96 %
MET 16.9 - 22.1 days
High temperature sowing date (13 seed lots)
(min / max temperature 19/ 42oC)
Emergence 63 – 93 %
MET 11.2 – 16.2 days
Germination after storage (10 seed lots)
at 8% MC 5oC for 4 months
60 – 92%
Pepper emergence in glasshouse conditions
Başak et al. (2006) Seed Sci. & Technol, 24, 701-712
Storage potential
Initial lab
germination (%)
Germination (%) after storage for 2
years
Store 1
(ambient)
Store 2
(ambient)
Store 3
(DH)
84 28 33 56
97 84 88 91
93 54 63 73
91 17 21 39
Brassica oleracea var gemmifera, Brussels sprouts
Ambient = ambient in UK
DH = dehumidified and low temperature store
Good storage potential
Poor storage potential
Summary of aspects of performance associated with
seed vigour
• Emergence ability of seeds
– particularly under unfavourable environmental conditions
• Rate and uniformity of seed germination and seedling
growth
• Performance after storage
– particularly the ability to germinate
What vigour differences mean
Vigour level
High Low
Mean rate of
germination
Fast Slow
Spread of
germination time
Narrow Wide
Mean seedling size Large, uniform Small, variable
Emergence Good Poorer
Storage potential Good Poorer
• Simple to complete
applicable in a wide range of seed testing environments
more ‘hi-tech’options may also be available
• Results should correlate with a practical expression of seed vigour
emergence in the field or glasshouse, or
seedling size and uniformity, or
seed longevity in store.
• Repeatable both within and between laboratories.
results from different laboratories would be comparable
trust in results of testing
essential for ISTA accreditation / QA
• Preferably a quantitative method of assessment
avoids subjective assessments
standardization easier.
• Quick
enables prompt reporting of results.
• The test should be economically practical.
a critical aspect in the running of any seed testing laboratory,
Requirements of a vigour test
Types of vigour tests
• Physiological assessments
– aspects of germination e.g. rate of germination, radicle emergence test
– stress tests e. g. cold test, cool germination test
• Biochemical assessments e.g. conductivity; tetrazolium
• Application of the ageing process
– accelerated ageing
– controlled deterioration
ISTA Validated tests Non-validated tests
Conductivity: grain legumes, radish * K+ leakage
Single seed conductivity
Accelerated ageing: soyabean* Accelerated ageing for other species*
Saturated salt accelerated ageing: small
seeded species*
Controlled deterioration: Brassica * spp.
Stress tests:
Cold test: maize * Saturated cold test: maize
Cool test: cotton
Radicle emergence: * maize, oilseed rape, radish
Seedling growth: range of species *
Tetrazolium staining: soyabean* Tetrazolium staining : species other than
soyabean
Vigour tests in use
What do vigour tests tell us ?
• Information about:
– the planting value in a wide range of environments and/or
– storage potential of seed lots
• Additional information to the standard germination test
– differentiation between seed lots of acceptable germination
• Information that will help
– companies make marketing and storage decisions
– allow farmers to judge risks when sowing
Our aim: Basis of vigour, vigour tests and their use
Two key concepts
0
20
40
60
80
100
0 24 48 72 96 120 144
Time from set to germinate (h)G
erm
ination (
%)
F
H
I
Seed survival curve Germination progress curve
Our aim
To illustrate how these two concepts help provide an integrated
explanation for differences in vigour and vigour tests
The use of vigour tests in Japan
Takashi Shinohara
Tokyo University of Agriculture
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