physiology of plants affected by ageing

Objective: ageing of the stored seed is a natural phenomenon and the seeds tend to lose viability even under ideal storage conditions. accelerated ageing has been recognized as a good predictor of the storability of seed lots. aged seeds show decreased vigor and produce weak seedlings that are unable to survive once reintroduced into a habitat. the characteristics of the chemical composition of oil crops (soybean and sunflower) are related to specific processes occurring in seed during storage. lipid auto-oxidation and increase of free fatty acid content during storage are the most often mentioned reasons for accelerated damage of seed of oily plant species.