Effect of artificial aging and natural storage on cation leakage and viability of Iranian chickpea (Cicer arietinum) seeds cv. Hashem

This study was laid out in order to evaluate the effects of artificial ageing and natural storage on seeds germination traits, cation leakage and viability of chickpea seeds under both artificial ageing and natural storage and comparison of them in Gorgan University of Agricultural Science and Natural Resources at 2014. The experiment was conducted in completely randomized design with four replications. Treatments were 8 ageing levels such as (2 years, 4 years natural storage, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 days of artificial ageing and control). In the present stude some traits such as germination percentage, normal seedling percentage, germination rate, seed vigor index, electrical conductivity, lipid peroxidation and seed Na and K before and after leaching and their amounts in soluble after leaching were studied. The results of analysis of variance showed that the effect of aging treatment was significant on all traits except seed Na before leaching. The results of the mean comparison showed that the reduction of germination percentage, germination rate, seed vigor index and normal seedling percentage in 4 and 5 artificial ageing days were higher than 2 and 4 natural storage years. MDA production, electrical conductivity, Na and K lekeage in increased by increasing of artificial ageing to 5 days that was more than 2 and 4 natural storage years due to non-ability of membrane to keeping their permeability. The increasing of aging levels result to increases of amount of K and Na in seeds tissues. Seed dying by tetrazolium ans nitro blue tetrazolium showed that increasing of seed aging result to reduction of seed viability that in severe artificial aging was higher than natural storage treatments. During seed aging Lipid peroxidation damaged to cell membrane and electrolyte lekeage was increased. Then, seed viability was decreased and results to decreasing of seed germination percentage and rate and normal seedling production. These results reviled that effect of artificial ageing and natural storage on germination, cation leakage and viability of chickpea seeds was same and can uses for chickpea storing programs, whereas their mechanisms may different.