About Book

Seed science is the all-important foundation of plant science study. It involves several disciplines such as plant production, agronomy, plant physiology, plant science, entomology and plant pathology. The seed is the most important and essential starting point for a healthy plant. If a seed is not viable a seedling will not emerge. If a seed has low vigour a weak seedling will emerge which in turn may either succumb to environmental conditions or attack by pathogens or insects. It is therefore of the outmost importance to look at the seed to make sure that it is viable and will give rise to vigorous seedlings able to withstand unfavourable environmental conditions and pests. The focus of this research area is optimisation of yield and product quality in cereals, grasses, clover and vegetable seed crops based on research in crop nutrition and growth physiology processes under variable production and climate conditions. This book is a compilation of chapters that discuss the most vital concepts in field of seed science and technology. The topics introduced in it cover the latest techniques and methods of the subject. It covers cytokinins, secondary organic aerosol, anatomical insights, genotype, transcriptome, seed vigor, oilseed pests and seed quality. Different approaches, evaluations and methodologies on the subject have been included in it. This book is a complete source of knowledge on the present status of this important field. It is extensively referenced and packed with tables and diagrams, and makes an essential source for students, educators, researchers and practitioners in seed science and technology.

Preface............................................................................................................v

Chapter 1 Biology of Seed Vigor in the Light of -omics Tools.........................1

Abstract...................................................................................................1

1. Introduction............................................................................................2

2. -Omics technologies for seed aging/priming...................................5

3. Future perspectives for seed vigor improvement through

-Omics results......................................................................................11

4. Conclusion............................................................................................14

Chapter 2 Decoding the Transcriptome of Rice Seed During

Development..............................................................................................21

Abstract.................................................................................................21

1. Introduction..........................................................................................21

2. Expression atlases capture the dynamicity of transcriptome

during seed development..................................................................23

3. Functional intricacies of seed development revealed by atlases

explain the conundrum of seed development..............................24

4. Genes involved in polarity establishment and organ initiation

are expressed in the embryo............................................................27

5. Rice endosperm shows structural and developmental

complexities..........................................................................................30

6. Expression profiling unravels the complex molecular machinery

involved in grain filling.....................................................................34

7. Dissecting out the effect of temperature stress on seed filling at

the molecular level using expression profiling.............................36

8. Summary and concluding remarks.................................................37

Acknowledgements.............................................................................39

Chapter 3 Characterization of Genotype by Planting Date Effects on

Runner-Type Peanut Seed Germination and Vigor Response to

Temperature................................................................................................47

Abstract.................................................................................................47

1. Introduction..........................................................................................48

2. Importance............................................................................................50

3. Background information on peanut seed.......................................50

4. Research................................................................................................52

5. Research................................................................................................57

6. Conclusion/recommendations...........................................................65

Chapter 4 Anatomical and Chemical Insights into the White Clover

(Trifolium repens L.) Seed Coat Associated to Water

Permeability................................................................................................70

Abstract.................................................................................................70

1. Introduction..........................................................................................71

2. Materials and methods......................................................................72

3. Results and discussion.......................................................................74

Acknowledgements.............................................................................79

Chapter 5 Organic Cereal Seed Quality and Production...................................83

1. Introduction ........................................................................................83

2. Legislation of use of seed in organic farming .............................84

3. Production of cereal seeds - An example from the Czech

Republic ...............................................................................................87

4. Quality of organic seed – Results of experiments ......................90

5. Conclusion .........................................................................................104

Acknowledgements...........................................................................105

Chapter 6 Effects of Inorganic Seeds on Secondary Organic Aerosol (SOA)

Formation..................................................................................................107

1. Introduction........................................................................................107

2. Experimental section........................................................................108

3. Results and discussion ...................................................................109

4. Conclusion..........................................................................................122

Acknowledgement.............................................................................123

Chapter 7 Oilseed Pests............................................................................................127

1. Introduction ......................................................................................127

2. Cottonseeds .......................................................................................130

3. Groundnuts .......................................................................................146

4. Soybean ..............................................................................................161

5. Mustard...............................................................................................177

6. Sunflower ..........................................................................................191

7. Safflower.............................................................................................204

Chapter 8 Sesame Seed.............................................................................................222

1. Introduction ......................................................................................222

2. History ...............................................................................................224

3. Production of sesame seed ............................................................224

4. Harvesting and post harvesting handling of sesame seed.......230

5. Nutritional benefits of sesame seed .............................................231

6. Description/Physical properties of sesame seed ........................232

7. Utilization of sesame seed .............................................................233

8. Oil characterization .........................................................................236

9. Processing methods of sesame seed and products ..................237

10. Derivable benefits for sesame seed processing...........................239

11. Adverse effects .................................................................................241

12. Further studies...................................................................................241

Chapter 9 Cytokinins and Their Possible Role in Seed Size and Seed Mass

Determination in Maize........................................................................246

1. Introduction........................................................................................246

2. Caryopsis dry mass and ZmIncw2 transcript level correlate with

the gene dose of mutant alleles.....................................................250

3. Cytokinin profiles and transcript levels of CK metabolism related

genes....................................................................................................252

4. Differential expression of type D2 and type D3 cyclin genes in

the Mn1 and Mn1 caryopsis supports the alternative development

of Mn1.................................................................................................257

5. Conclusions .......................................................................................260

Citation......................................................................................................267

Index...........................................................................................................269

About Author

Aaron Zodikoff received his Ph.D. in Agricultural Science from Public State University, Irkutsk. He is serving as a Guest Lecturer at Technical Institute, Cherkasy Oblast. He is actively engaged in the researches focused on the structure of seeds, germination and edible seeds. Zodikoff has authored and edited more than 47 articles, journal papers and book chapters in the field of seed science and technology. He has travelled and lectured extensively throughout Europe and Asia; primarily for higher education.