Soluble carbohydrates in cereal (wheat, rye, triticale) seed after storage under accelerated ageing conditions

Abstract

Germinability and the content of soluble carbohydrates were analysed in cereal seed (winter rye, cv. Warko; spring wheat, cv. Santa; hexaploid winter triticale, cv. Fidelio and cv. Woltario). Seed moisture content (mc) was equilibrated over silica gel to 0.08 g H₂O/g dry mass and stored in a desiccator at 20^oC for up to 205 weeks or were equilibrated to mc 0.06, 0.08 or 0.10 g H₂O/g dm and subjected to artificial aging at 35^oC in air-tight laminated aluminium foil packages for 205 weeks. It was shown that the rate of seed aging depended on the species and seed moisture content. The fastest decrease of germinability upon storage was observed in seed with the highest moisture level. Complete germinability loss for winter rye, winter triticale cv. Fidelio, winter triticale cv. Woltario and spring wheat seed with mc 0.10 g H₂O/g dm³ occurred after 81, 81, 101 and 133 weeks, respectively. Fructose, glucose, galactose, myo-inositol, sucrose, galactinol, raffinose, stachyose and verbascose were the main soluble carbohydrates found in the seed. The obtained data on the contents of specific sugars and the composition of soluble sugars fraction in seed of rye, wheat and triticale did not corroborate any profound effect of reducing sugars, sucrose and oligosaccharides on seed longevity.