A method for rapid aging of waxy corn seeds

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of waxy corn seed quick aging method, comprising: waxy corn seed is soaked in 48~52 ℃ water H hours, waxy corn seed is taken out, and air-dried until the water content is reduced to 13wt% or less, to obtain the waxy corn seed after aging, wherein H=3~9.The waxy corn seed quick aging method of the application can realize the aging of waxy corn seed in a shorter time, significantly shorten the aging cycle.The waxy corn seed quick aging method of the application has strong controllability, and the aging degree of seed is controlled by adjusting water bath temperature and aging treatment time, to meet different test requirements.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of seed evaluation technology, and specifically relates to a method for rapid aging of waxy corn seeds. Background Technology

[0002] Seed aging is a key research area in seed research and agricultural production. Seed aging refers to the phenomenon that seed viability gradually declines during storage due to internal physiological and biochemical changes and the influence of external environmental factors. The traditional natural aging process is extremely slow, often requiring months or even years. This poses a significant challenge to large-scale seed quality assessment, germplasm resource preservation strategy research, and seed storage tolerance screening, severely restricting the efficiency of related scientific research and production activities.

[0003] With the advancement of agricultural modernization, there is an urgent need for a method to rapidly simulate the seed aging process. On the one hand, in the seed industry, the pace of new variety breeding is accelerating, requiring rapid assessment of seed storage tolerance to determine suitable preservation conditions and packaging methods. This ensures that seeds maintain high germination rates and vigor even after long-term storage, providing a reliable seed source for agricultural production. On the other hand, in the construction of germplasm resource banks, a large number of seed samples need regular monitoring of their aging degree and vigor changes. Rapid aging methods can help establish a more efficient monitoring system, promptly identify potential problems, and take corresponding protective measures.

[0004] To address these issues, researchers have proposed numerous seed aging methods. However, existing methods have several limitations. Current methods employ the traditional high-temperature, high-humidity method (42℃ / 95% RH), which suffers from unstable temperature and humidity control, high equipment costs, long processing cycles (typically 3 days), and poor reproducibility of results. Furthermore, certain chemical treatments may cause additional damage or contamination to the seeds, affecting the assessment of their true aging characteristics. Additionally, existing methods are not sufficiently specific for waxy corn seeds (which have high amylopectin content).

[0005] Therefore, developing a rapid aging method that is efficient, stable, controllable, and has no adverse effects on seeds has become an important technical problem that urgently needs to be solved in the field of seed science. It is of great significance for promoting in-depth seed-related research and ensuring the sustainable development of agricultural production. Summary of the Invention

[0006] In view of the shortcomings of the existing technology, the purpose of this invention is to provide a method for rapid aging of waxy corn seeds, which can accelerate the aging of waxy corn seeds and can be used for seed quality testing.

[0007] Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for obtaining waxy corn seeds with a specific degree of aging.

[0008] The objective of this invention is achieved through the following technical solution.

[0009] A method for rapid aging of glutinous corn seeds includes: soaking glutinous corn seeds in water at 48-52℃ for H hours, removing the glutinous corn seeds, and drying them until the moisture content is reduced to below 13wt% to obtain aged glutinous corn seeds, wherein H = 3-9.

[0010] A method for obtaining waxy corn seeds at a specific aging stage includes:

[0011] 1) Based on different H values, the rapid aging method of waxy corn seeds is executed to obtain the aged waxy corn seeds and their aging index at each H value. A coordinate system is established, with the horizontal and vertical axes of the coordinate system being the H value and the aging index, respectively. The H value and aging index of aged waxy corn seeds with different H values ​​are substituted into the coordinate system to obtain the relationship curve between the aging index and the H value.

[0012] 2) Fit the relationship curve into a linear equation, substitute the aging index of waxy corn seeds with a specific aging degree into the linear equation, and obtain the H value of waxy corn seeds with that specific aging degree as H'.

[0013] 3) Substitute H' into H in the rapid aging method for waxy corn seeds and execute the rapid aging method for waxy corn seeds to obtain waxy corn seeds with a specific degree of aging.

[0014] In the above technical solution, the aging index is the germination rate or germination index.

[0015] The beneficial effects of this invention are as follows:

[0016] 1. The rapid aging method for glutinous corn seeds of the present invention can achieve the aging of glutinous corn seeds in a short time and significantly shorten the aging cycle.

[0017] 2. The rapid aging method for waxy corn seeds of the present invention is highly controllable. By adjusting the water bath temperature and aging treatment time, the degree of seed aging can be controlled to meet different experimental requirements.

[0018] 3. The rapid aging method for glutinous corn seeds of the present invention is simple to operate, easy to operate, requires no complicated equipment or special conditions, and is suitable for widespread use.

[0019] 4. Germination experiments and index analysis were conducted on aged glutinous corn seeds obtained by the rapid aging method of the present invention. A quantitative relationship between temperature, time and degree of aging was established based on a mathematical model, which can predict the temperature and time required for different degrees of aging of glutinous corn seeds. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Figure 1 The graph shows the correlation analysis results between the germination rate of aged waxy corn seeds of three varieties treated at 50℃ and the aging time in Example 1.

[0021] Figure 2 The graph shows the correlation analysis results between the germination index and aging time of the three varieties of waxy corn seeds aged at 50℃ in Example 1. Detailed Implementation

[0022] The following describes in detail a method for rapid aging of waxy corn seeds according to the present invention, with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0023] Example 1

[0024] A method for rapid aging of waxy corn seeds includes:

[0025] Select 200 healthy, uniform-sized, and undamaged seeds of three varieties of glutinous corn (each variety) and place them in a 200mL beaker. The three varieties are Nongke Yu 336, Jingtian Nuo 1248, and Jingnuo 307. Add an appropriate amount of distilled water at X℃ to each of the three beakers, ensuring the water covers the glutinous corn seeds (to 2 / 3 of the beaker's volume). Immediately seal each beaker with sealing film (ensuring a tight seal without leakage). Place the three sealed beakers in a container containing distilled water at X℃. The beakers were kept stable in a water bath to prevent them from floating. The water bath temperature was set to X℃ and the timer was started. The glutinous corn seeds in the beakers underwent an aging treatment for H hours. During this period, the beakers in the water bath were shaken every half hour to ensure that the glutinous corn seeds in each beaker received a thorough and uniform aging treatment. After H hours, the glutinous corn seeds in the three beakers were removed and dried to reduce the moisture content of the glutinous corn seeds to below 13%, resulting in aged glutinous corn seeds that had undergone an aging treatment at X℃ for H hours.

[0026] The aged glutinous corn seeds were obtained by setting X = 45, 50 and 55 respectively, and H = 3, 6 and 9 respectively. Table 1 shows the results.

[0027] Table 1

[0028]

[0029]

[0030] Example 2

[0031] A method for aging waxy corn seeds (traditional high-temperature and high-humidity method) includes: placing 200 seeds of each of three varieties of waxy corn (Nongke Yu 336, Jingtian Nuo 1248, and Jingnuo 307) that are uniform in size, healthy, and undamaged in an aging chamber for 72 hours for aging treatment; then removing and air-drying the seeds to reduce the moisture content to below 13% to obtain aged waxy corn seeds. The temperature inside the aging chamber is 42℃, and the relative humidity is 95%RH. The varieties are shown in Table 2.

[0032] Table 2

[0033] Example Varieties of glutinous corn seeds Example 2-1 Nongke Yu 336 Example 2-2 Jing Tiannuo 1248 Example 2-3 Jingnuo 307

[0034] Example 3

[0035] A method for germinating aged waxy corn seeds includes: cutting multiple sheets of filter paper to the same size as the bottom of a germination box; laying three sheets of filter paper flat at the bottom of the germination box and fully moistening them; evenly placing 30 aged waxy corn seeds on the germination bed inside the germination box, leaving gaps between the seeds; covering the seeds with two sheets of filter paper and fully moistening them; placing the germination box in an incubator at 25°C and 65% relative humidity for 7 days × 24 hours, providing 16 hours of light and 8 hours of darkness daily; recording the number of germinated seeds daily and calculating the germination rate of the 30 seeds; blanching the seedlings at 105°C for 30 minutes, then drying the blanched seedlings at 80°C to constant weight, and weighing the dry weight of a single seedling using a 0.1% balance as S.

[0036] The 30 aged waxy corn seeds were from one of Examples 1-1 to 1-27 and Examples 2-1 to 2-3.

[0037] The germination box has a bottom size of 12cm×12cm and a height of 12cm. The criteria for successful germination of aged glutinous corn seeds are: the length of the radicle is the same as the length of the aged glutinous corn seed and the plumule breaks through the seed coat.

[0038] Germination rate (GR%) = (Number of successfully germinated aged waxy corn seeds / Number of test seeds) * 100%; The number of test seeds was 30.

[0039] Germination index (GI) = ∑(Gt / Dt), where Gt is the number of aged waxy corn seeds that successfully germinated on day t, and Dt is the germination time;

[0040] The stem weight vitality index (VI) = GI × S, where S is the dry weight of a single seedling.

[0041] Germination rate, germination index, and stem vigor index of Examples 1-1 to 1-27 and Examples 2-1 to 2-3 were analyzed by one-way ANOVA, as shown in Tables 3 to 6.

[0042] In the table, the germination rate, germination index, and stem vigor index are represented by five suffix letters: a, b, c, d, and e. The same letter indicates no significant difference between groups, while different letters indicate significant differences between groups.

[0043] (1) As shown in Table 3, the germination rate, germination index and stem vigor index of Examples 1-3, 1-12 and 1-21 were significantly different from those of the control group (CK): the germination rate of Example 1-3 decreased by 9.0% compared with the control group (CK), the germination rate of Example 1-12 decreased by 9.4% compared with the control group, and the germination rate of Example 1-21 decreased by 21.3% compared with the control group (CK);

[0044] The germination rates of Examples 2-1 and 2-2 showed significant differences compared to the control group (CK). The germination rate of Example 2-1 decreased by 62.9% compared to the control group (CK), and the germination rate of Example 2-2 decreased by 12.9% compared to the control group (CK). The germination rate of Example 2-3 did not differ significantly from that of the control group (CK).

[0045] In summary, the aging effect of waxy corn seeds in Examples 2-1, 2-2, and 2-3 was not stable, while the aging effect of waxy corn seeds in Examples 1-3, 1-12, and 1-21 was relatively stable.

[0046] The control group (CK) consisted of unaged waxy corn seeds.

[0047] Table 3

[0048]

[0049]

[0050] (2) As shown in Table 4, the germination rate, germination index, and stem vigor index of the aged waxy corn seeds of the three varieties (Examples 1-4 to 1-6, Examples 1-13 to 1-15, Examples 1-22 to 1-24) after aging at 50℃ for 3, 6, or 9 hours showed significant differences from the control group:

[0051] The germination rate of aged waxy corn seeds of three varieties (Examples 1-4, 1-13, and 1-22) after aging at 50℃ for 3 hours decreased by 1.1% to 10.6%. The germination rate of aged waxy corn seeds of three varieties (Examples 1-5, 1-14, and 1-23) after aging at 50℃ for 6 hours decreased by 47.1% to 82.0%. The germination rate of aged waxy corn seeds of three varieties (Examples 1-6, 1-15, and 1-24) after aging at 50℃ for 9 hours decreased by 88.8% to 96.6%.

[0052] In summary, as the aging treatment time is extended, the germination rate of the aged glutinous corn seeds obtained in Example 1 decreases more rapidly.

[0053] Table 4

[0054]

[0055]

[0056] Correlation analysis was performed on the germination rates of Examples 1-4 to 1-6, Examples 1-13 to 1-15, and Examples 1-22 to 1-24:

[0057] A linear equation was fitted to the germination rate and aging treatment time in Examples 1-4 to 1-6, yielding y1 = -10.519x + 110.67. A linear equation was fitted to the germination rate and aging treatment time in Examples 1-13 to 1-15, yielding y² = -9.592x + 102.88. A linear equation was fitted to the germination rate and aging treatment time in Examples 1-22 to 1-24, yielding y3 = -11.889x + 105.45.

[0058] like Figure 1 As shown, the germination rate of aged waxy corn seeds of three varieties (Examples 1-4 to 1-6, Examples 1-13 to 1-15, and Examples 1-22 to 1-24) after aging at 50℃ showed a linear relationship with the aging treatment time. The three linear equations correspond to... All reached over 90%.

[0059] Correlation analysis was performed on the germination indices of Examples 1-4 to 1-6, Examples 1-13 to 1-15, and Examples 1-22 to 1-24:

[0060] A linear equation was fitted to the germination index and aging treatment time in Examples 1-4 to 1-6, yielding y4 = -0.9943x + 9.377. A linear equation was fitted to the germination index and aging treatment time for Examples 1-13 to 1-15, yielding the fitted linear equation y5 = -0.9417x + 9.315. A linear equation was fitted to the germination index and aging treatment time for Examples 1-22 to 1-24, yielding y6 = -1.3523x + 11.123.

[0061] like Figure 2 As shown, the germination index of aged waxy corn seeds of three varieties (Examples 1-4 to 1-6, Examples 1-13 to 1-15, and Examples 1-22 to 1-24) after aging at 50℃ showed a linear relationship with the aging treatment time. The three linear equations correspond to... All reached over 90%.

[0062] In summary, the method in Example 1 allows for control of the aging degree of waxy corn seeds by adjusting the aging treatment time under a water bath temperature of 50°C, thus meeting different experimental requirements.

[0063] (3) As shown in Table 5, the germination rate, germination index, and stem weight vigor of the three varieties of waxy corn seeds after aging at 55℃ for 3 hours were significantly different from those of the control group:

[0064] The germination rate of aged waxy corn seeds of three varieties (Examples 1-7, 1-16 and 1-25) after aging at 55°C for 3 hours decreased by more than 96.6% compared with the control group (CK).

[0065] Table 5

[0066]

[0067] As shown in Table 6, the germination indices of aged waxy corn seeds of three varieties (Examples 1-2, 1-5, 1-8, 1-11, 1-14, 1-17, 1-20, 1-23, and 1-26) after aging at different temperatures for 6 hours were analyzed: The germination rate, germination index, and stem vigor index of aged waxy corn seeds (Examples 1-5, 1-14, and 1-23) obtained when X was set to 55℃ in Example 1 were significantly different from those of the control group (CK).

[0068] Table 6

[0069]

[0070]

[0071] Based on the above analysis, it can be seen that the rapid aging method for waxy corn seeds of the present invention has a relatively shorter processing time and a relatively more stable processing effect compared with the aging method of Example 2.

[0072] The present invention has been described above by way of example. It should be noted that any simple modifications, alterations or other equivalent substitutions that can be made by those skilled in the art without creative effort without departing from the core of the present invention fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A method for rapid aging of waxy corn seeds, characterized in that, include: Waxy corn seeds were soaked in water at 48–52°C for H hours, then the seeds were removed and dried until the moisture content dropped to below 13 wt% to obtain aged waxy corn seeds, where H = 3–9.

2. A method for obtaining waxy corn seeds at a specific degree of aging, characterized in that, include: 1) Perform the rapid aging method for waxy corn seeds as described in claim 1 based on different H values ​​to obtain aged waxy corn seeds and their aging indices at each H value; Establish a coordinate system with H value and aging index as the horizontal and vertical axes, respectively. Substitute the H value and aging index of aged waxy corn seeds with different H values ​​into the coordinate system to obtain the relationship curve between aging index and H value. 2) Fit the relationship curve into a linear equation, substitute the aging index of waxy corn seeds with a specific aging degree into the linear equation, and obtain the H value of waxy corn seeds with that specific aging degree as H'. 3) Substitute H' into H in the rapid aging method of waxy corn seeds according to claim 1 and perform the rapid aging method of waxy corn seeds to obtain waxy corn seeds with a specific degree of aging.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The aging index is the germination rate or germination index.

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