Investigation of seed deterioration of pine stored in natural resources gene bank of Iran

Seed deterioration is one of the most important phenomenon that affect seed germination and viability during storage. This is because of cell membrane damage and solute leakage out of the cell. Seed deterioration of pinus radiata(with two provenances). P. pinaster, and P.pinea, were Investigated after 22 years storage (°4C) in natural resources gene bank. The experiments were carried out whit a completely randomized design (RCD). There were significant differences between accessions for reduction in germination. pinus pinea collected from Turkey showed the highest seed deterioration (from71 to 9%) and pinus radiata collected from North Khorasan showed the lowest deterioration (from 82.6 to 60%). Although all of these seeds are classified as orthodox but these differences show that they cant be treated the same way in the storage and they need different regeneration and preservation procedure in respect to their species and origin.