The influence of seed maturation on desiccation tolerance in Phalaenopsis amabilis hybrids
2011
Schwallier, Rachel | Bhoopalan, Vanitha | Blackman, Sheila
The Orchidaceae contains a large number of threatened species that could benefit from seed banking. However, successful seed storage requires a greater understanding of the enigmatic seed biology of orchids. In particular, there is little documentation of the presence or timing of the maturation drying that has been shown to be critical for longevity of agricultural seeds in storage. The aims of this work were to document seed water content, germinability and desiccation tolerance as a function of maturation in developing capsules of hand-pollinated flowers of Phalaenopsis hybrids. Lengthening of capsules was complete by 50DAP, but capsule diameter continued to increase up to a maximum at 70DAP. Relative water content rapidly declined from 75% moisture content (fresh weight basis) at 150DAP to 50% moisture content at 165DAP where it remained until dehiscence. Seed germinability remained high (75–99.5%) throughout the harvesting period (90–216DAP), but desiccation tolerance only developed 165 days after pollination. Therefore, if Phalaenopsis seeds are to be stored, we propose that their harvest should be delayed until moisture content drops below 50%.
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