Influence of Ammonia Vapors on the Dry Seeds of Soybean, Corn, and Peanut
1986
Woodstock, Lowell W. | Hensin, Tsao
The toxic effects of ammonia (NH₃) on dry seeds of soybean [Glycine max (L) Merr.], corn (Zea mays L.), and peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) were assessed in this study. Soybean seeds were killed after a 24-h exposure at 15 mg L⁻¹, whereas corn seeds were killed at only 1.5 mg L⁻¹. The toxic effects of NH₃ became more severe with exposure duration, e.g., in soybean, 15 mg L⁻¹ NH₃ killed seeds after 24 h, but not after a 2-h exposure. Injury response of seeds to ammonia in the cold (5°C) was less severe than that at 25°C. Conductivity tests of steep water detected the injurious effects of toxic levels of NH₃ on seeds. However, nontoxic levels of NH₃ also increased leachate conductivity. It is concluded that levels of NH₃ like|y to be encountered in refrigerated warehouses following a leak (0.015 to 0.15 mg L⁻¹, i.e., 20 to 200 ppm) are unlikely to have an adverse effect on the germination or growth of soybean, peanut, or corn seeds.
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