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Even though dry-heat (DH) treatment has been widely used for inactivation of seed-borne virus in vegetable seeds, it is known that the seeds should be used within a year after the DH treatment because of the significant reduction of storage capability in DH-treated seeds. DH-treated seeds exhibited poor early germination and significantly higher percentages of abnormal seedlings produced. The final germination rate was, however, not usually influenced by DH treatment. DH-treated seeds had been stored at 20 °C up to 5 years in sealed containers with silica gel in some cultivars. Both the intact and DH-treated seed exhibited excellent germination even after 4 years of storage at room temperature. Even though the hypocotyl length was shortened in DH treated seeds of most cultivars tested, other characteristics of seedlings produced from intact and or DH-treated seeds were similar. Cultivars showed marked differences in seedling characteristics, especially in length of hypocotyles.
Dry-heat (DH) treatment has been extensively used for inactivation of some seed-borne virus and Fusarium disease in many vegetable crops, especially in cucurbitaceous vegetables. Strains of tobamovirus (cucumber green mottle mosaic virus; CGMMV) could be successfully inactivated by treating the infected seeds at 75 °C for 72 h. However, DH-treated seeds frequently exhibit slow and poor germination and abnormal seedling characteristics, such as distorted, white streaked, and punctured cotyledons in the seedlings. The moisture content in seed coat and inner cotyledons fell down to below 1% in DH-treated seeds when treated at 75 °C or higher. However, when the seeds were treated at 65 °C, final moisture content in the DH-treated seeds were maintained at about 2.5% to 3.5%. Seeds absorbed moisture above 20% at 100% RH, 9% to 10% at 73% RH, and 4% to 5% at 28% RH, respectively. When the intact and DH-treated seeds were exposed to conditions of varying relative humidity, DH-treated seeds absorbed atmospheric moisture at a much slower rate than the intact seeds in all tested cultivars, and this is thought to be one of the major reasons for slower germination in DH-treated seeds. The inactivation of virus, comparison of respiration of seeds, and endogenous gibberellic acid contents will also be presented.
Cucumber green mottle mosaic virus (CGMMV) is a noxious disease in cucurbits, especially in Asia where grafting is commonly practiced. CGMMV can be easily transmitted by seed, hands, soil, or grafting. Seed companies are rigorously looking for effective and efficient means of CGMMV inactivation in infected seeds. Among the various treatments applied to the seeds, dry heat treatment (35° C 1 day + 50 °C 1 day + 75 °C 3 days) was found to be most suitable for complete inactivation. Various identification methods including high-density latex agglutination test (HDLPAT), ELISA, RT-PCR, and bioassay (Chenopodium amaranticolor) were compared for accurate diagnosis of the presence of virus in seeds. The results from HDLPAT showed the highest correlation with the bioassay results, suggesting that HDLPAT can be safely used for accurate means of virus detection. Details of dry heat treatment, various seed treatment, and other detection methods will be presented.
Growth response of `Sambok Honey' watermelon grafted onto different rootstocks, including four Citrullus rootstocks and three other cucurbitaceous rootstocks, was evaluated at low and normal temperature regimes. Marked reduction in plant growth rate was observed in plants grown at low temperatures as compared to those grown at normal or optimal temperatures. Relative growth reduction rates were 40% to 48% for vine length, 39% to 51% for total leaf area, 37% to 60% for shoot fresh weight, and 50% to 79% for shoot dry weight, respectively. Watermelon rootstock PI 482322 showed comparable plant growth as the most popular rootstock (Shintozwa pumpkin) even at low temperatures. `Sambok Honey' watermelon grafted onto watermelon hybrids `PI 271969 × PI 296341' and `PI 271769 × Calhoun Gray', showed comparable plant growth as FR Dantos bottle gourd rootstock. Index of growth ability at low temperature (IGALT), which was calculated on the basis of reduced rate of vine length, dry weight, and leaf area, was comparatively high in C. martinezii, Shintozwa, PI 482322, and `PI 271769 × PI 296341' rootstocks (50% or higher) and lowest in own-rooted `Sambok Honey' or in watermelon plants on `Knight' rootstock. Watermelon hybrids `PI 271969 × PI 296341' and `PI 271769 × Calhoun Gray' exhibited better or at least comparable growth at low temperatures as compared to `FR Dantos', thus confirming the feasibility of using watermelon rootstocks even in winter greenhouse conditions.