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Germination of 110-year-old cereal and weed seeds, the Vienna Sample of 1877. Verification of effective ultra-dry storage at ambient temperature

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 September 2008

A.M. Steiner  and
P. Ruckenbauer
A.M. Steiner*
Affiliation:
Institute of Plant Breeding, Seed Science and Population Genetics, University of Hohenheim, D-70593 Stuttgart, Germany
P. Ruckenbauer
Affiliation:
Institute of Crop Science and Plant Breeding, University of Agronomy Vienna, A-1180 Vienna, Austria
*
*correrpondence
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Abstract

After 110 years of hermetic sealed storage at temperatures between 10 and 15°C and at a moisture content of 3.12%, Hordeum vulgare showed 90% germination and Avena sativa 81%. In addition, some seeds of Agrostemma githago, Lolium temulentum, Sinapis alba, Sinapis arvensis, and Vaccaria hispanica were still capable of germinating. This demonstrates that ultra-dry, long-term seed storage under ambient temperature conditions can successfully be achieved with the intention of cutting down risks and costs in germplasm conservation.

Keywords

ultra-dry storagelong-term storageseed longevitygermplasm conservationVienna Sample 1877
Type
Physiology and Biochemistry
Information
Seed Science Research , Volume 5 , Issue 4 , December 1995 , pp. 195 - 199
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1995

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