The effect of priming with ascorbic acid on improvement of germination characteristics and mobility of reservoirs in corn aging seeds

The deterioration of seed during storage is the most important cause of seed damage. In order to investigate the effect of ascorbic acid (vitamin C) on improvement of germination characteristics and mobility of reservoirs in corn aging seeds, a factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with three replications in 2017 at the University of Mohaghegh Ardabili. Treatments included three levels of aging (0, 6 and 12 days) and priming with four concentrations of ascorbic acid (0, 50, 100 and 150 mg lit-1). The traits measured in this experiment were percentage and rate of germination, dry weight of radicle, dry weight of plumule and seed residual, seedling vigor, seed reserve utilization rate (SRUR), fraction of used seed reserves (FUSR), Seed reserve utilization efficiency (SRUE), respiration index and catalase activity. The results of the experiment showed that the aging of the seeds at both levels (6 and 12 days) decreased the measured traits. The use of priming treatment improved the measured traits. Concentration of 150 mg lit-1 ascorbic acid considering germination percentage of 78.22%, seedling vigor 11.6, SRUR 65.5 mg seed-1, FUSR 0.84, SRUE 0.25 mg mg-1 and respiration index 5.51 g was the best. The effect of ascorbic acid on the catalase enzyme was not significant. The highest amount of catalase enzyme activity was obtained in 12 days of aging. In general, the use of ABA increased vigor of aging seeds.