Skip Navigation

This Article
Right arrow Full Text Freely available
Right arrow FREE Full Text (PDF) Freely available
Right arrow E-letters: Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when E-letters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Add to My Personal Archive
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Search for citing articles in:
ISI Web of Science (15)
Right arrowRequest Permissions
Right arrow Disclaimer
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Liang, Y.
Right arrow Articles by Sun, W. Q.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Liang, Y.
Right arrow Articles by Sun, W. Q.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Liang, Y.
Right arrow Articles by Sun, W. Q.
Social Bookmarking
Add to CiteULike   Add to Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us  
What's this?

Journal of Experimental Botany, Vol. 51, No. 352, pp. 1911-1919, November 1, 2000
© 2000 Oxford University Press

Original Papers

Desiccation tolerance of recalcitrant Theobroma cacao embryonic axes: the optimal drying rate and its physiological basis

Yongheng Liang and Wendell Q. Sun1

Department of Biological Sciences, National University of Singapore, Kent Ridge Crescent, Singapore 119260

Recalcitrant seed axes were reported to survive to lower water contents under fast-drying conditions. The present study was to examine the hypothesis that drying rate and dehydration duration could interact to determine desiccation tolerance through different physico-chemical mechanisms. The effect of drying rate on desiccation tolerance of Theobroma cacao seed axes at 16 °C was examined. Rapid-drying at low relative humidity (RH) and slow-drying at high RH were more harmful to cocoa axes, because electrolyte leakage began to increase and axis viability began to decrease at high water contents. Maximum desiccation tolerance was observed with intermediate drying rates at RH between 88% and 91%, indicating the existence of an optimal drying rate or optimal desiccation duration. This maximum level of desiccation tolerance for cocoa axes (corresponding to a critical water potential of -9 MPa) was also detected using the equilibration method, in which axes were dehydrated over a series of salt solutions or glycerol solutions until the equilibrium. These data confirmed that the physiological basis of the optimal drying rate is related to both mechanical stress during desiccation and the length of desiccation duration during which deleterious reactions may occur. The optimal drying rate represents a situation where combined damages from mechanical and metabolic stresses become minimal.

Key words: Critical water potential, desiccation sensitivity, drying rate, recalcitrant seed, Theobroma cacao, water stress.


Add to CiteULike CiteULike   Add to Connotea Connotea   Add to Del.icio.us Del.icio.us    What's this?


This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 J Exp BotHome page
K. L. Koster, N. Reisdorph, and J. L. Ramsay
Changing desiccation tolerance of pea embryo protoplasts during germination
J. Exp. Bot., June 1, 2003; 54(387): 1607 - 1614.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 J Exp BotHome page
X.-J. Wang, C.-S. Loh, H.-H. Yeoh, and W. Q. Sun
Drying rate and dehydrin synthesis associated with abscisic acid-induced dehydration tolerance in Spathoglottis plicata orchidaceae protocorms
J. Exp. Bot., March 1, 2002; 53(368): 551 - 558.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home page
 Plant Physiol.Home page
Y. Liang and W. Q. Sun
Rate of Dehydration and Cumulative Desiccation Stress Interacted to Modulate Desiccation Tolerance of Recalcitrant Cocoa and Ginkgo Embryonic Tissues
Plant Physiology, April 1, 2002; 128(4): 1323 - 1331.
[Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]


Disclaimer: Please note that abstracts for content published before 1996 were created through digital scanning and may therefore not exactly replicate the text of the original print issues. All efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, but the Publisher will not be held responsible for any remaining inaccuracies. If you require any further clarification, please contact our Customer Services Department.