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Chinese Agricultural Science Bulletin ›› 2025, Vol. 41 ›› Issue (29): 15-23.doi: 10.11924/j.issn.1000-6850.casb2025-0528

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Effect of Storage Years at Room Temperature on Seed Germination and Physiological Characteristics of Wild-type Vicia sativa

WANG Honglin1,2(), WU Zizhou1,2, ZUO Yanchun1,2, YAN Xu1,2, YUAN Zhengcai1,2, DENG Yuchuan3, XIAO Lian4, CHEN Hui4, KOU Jing1,2, DU Zhouhe1,2()   

  1. 1 Institute of Special Economic Animals and Plants, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanchong, Sichuan 637000
    2 Sericulture Research Institute, Sichuan Academy of Agricultural Sciences/Forage Crops Germplasm Innovation and Production Management Key Laboratory of Nanchong City, Nanchong, Sichuan 637000
    3 Sichuan Grass Industry Technology Research and Promotion Center, Chengdu 610041
    4 Nanchong Bureau of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Nanchong, Sichuan 637000
  • Received:2025-03-21 Revised:2025-06-15 Online:2025-10-22 Published:2025-10-22

Abstract:

To elucidate the effects of room-temperature storage duration on seed germination and physiological characteristics in wild-type Vicia sativa L., this study used seeds stored for 0-2 years to systematically determine dynamic changes in germination parameters, seed coat elemental composition, nutrient contents, antioxidant enzyme activities, and malondialdehyde (MDA) accumulation. The results demonstrated that: (1) the hard seed rate significantly decreased (P<0.05) with increasing storage duration. Both germination percentage (98.52%) and germination potential (97.43%) peaked after 2 years of storage, while seed coat color shifted from gray to reddish-brown. (2) Seed coat calcium (Ca: 3911.64 μg/g) and aluminum (Al: 18.09 μg/g) contents significantly decreased (P<0.05), whereas potassium (K: 5152.93 μg/g), iron (Fe: 92.92 μg/g), and manganese (Mn: 37.43 μg/g) contents significantly increased. (3) Catalase (CAT) activity first increased then decreased, peaking at 346.76 μmol/g after 1 year. Peroxidase (POD) activity significantly declined (P<0.05) to its lowest (232.00 U/g) after 2 years. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity decreased overall, with the highest value (463.03 U/g) at initial storage (0 year). MDA content increased significantly (P<0.05), reaching 9.04 nmol/g at 2 years. (4) Soluble protein (SP) and starch contents initially rose then slightly declined, bottoming at 51.43 mg/g and 60.02 mg/g (respectively) after 2 years. Soluble sugar (SS) content increased steadily, peaking at 8.05 mg/g at 2 years. Lignin content in seed coats showed no significant change (P>0.05). (5) Correlation analysis revealed that germination potential, germination percentage, and MDA content were significantly negatively correlated (P<0.05) with the hard seed rate, and significantly positively correlated (P<0.05) with seed coat color. In conclusion, wild-type Vicia sativa seeds stored at room temperature for 2 years exhibit high vigor and are ideal sowing material.

Key words: wild-type Vicia sativa, room temperature storage, seed germination, enzyme activity, seed coat, MDA, hard seed