Coniferous seed orchards require a long period from initial seed harvest to stable seed production. Differential reproductive success and asynchrony are among the main factors for orchard crops year-to-year variation in terms of parental gametic contribution and ultimately the genetic gain. It is fundamental in both making predictions about the genetic composition of the seed crop and decisions...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS The Janzen-Connell model predicts that common species suffer high seed predation from specialized natural enemies as a function of distance from parent trees, and consequently as a function of conspecific density, whereas the predator satiation hypothesis predicts that seed attack is reduced due to predator satiation at high seed densities. Pre-dispersal predation by insects...

Seed shape and size are among the most important agronomic traits because they affect yield and market price. To obtain accurate seed size data, a large number of measurements are needed because there is little difference in size among seeds from one plant. To promote genetic analysis and selection for seed shape in plant breeding, efficient, reliable, high-throughput seed phenotyping methods a...

An opto-electronic seed spacing evaluation system that measured time intervals between seeds and detected frontto-back location of seed drop events relative to the planter was used to rapidly determine planter seed spacing uniformity in the laboratory. The seed detection sensor for the opto-electronic system consisted of a rectangular photogate with 24 phototransistors receiving light beams fro...

Timely harvest is critical to achieve maximum seed viability and vigour in agricultural production. However, little information exists concerning how to reap the best quality seeds of Leymus chinensis, which is the dominant and most promising grass species in the Songnen Grassland of Northern China. The objective of this study was to investigate and evaluate possible quality indices of the seed...

Seed germination is sensitive to glucose (Glc), nitric oxide (NO) and polyamine (PA). To elucidate whether cross-talk among Glc, NO and PAs occurs in mediation of seed germination, effects of Glc, NO and spermine on seed germination of Lotus japonicus were studied. Glc retarded seed germination in a concentration-dependent manner. NO donor sodium nitroprusside (SNP) alleviated Glc-induced inhib...

Seed oil, one of the major seed storage compounds in plants, is of great economic importance for human consumption, as an industrial raw material and as a source of biofuels. Thus, improving the seed oil yield in crops is an important objective. The GLABRA2 (GL2) gene in Arabidopsis thaliana encodes a transcription factor that is required for the proper differentiation of several epidermal cell...

Promoting the seed regeneration potential of secondary forests undergoing gap disturbances is an important approach for achieving forest restoration and sustainable management. Seedling recruitment from seed banks strongly determines the seed regeneration potential, but the process is poorly understood in the gaps of secondary forests. The objectives of the present study were to evaluate the ef...