Improved Germination and Modified Imbibition of shrunken-2 Sweet Corn by Seed Disinfection and Solid Matrix Priming

Abstract

Generally, sweet corn cultivars (Zea mays L.) carrying the shrunken-2 (sh2) gene have lower germination and seedling vigor than normal or sugary (su) cultivars. Seeds of sh2 `How Sweet It Is' (HSII) and `Crisp N'Sweet 711' (CNS-711) were imbibed for 6 hours. Rapid water uptake, higher seed leakage, and fungal infection were found in HSII, the lower germinating cultivar. Imbibition rate and leakage conductivity were reduced in both cultivars during the first 5 hours at 5C as compared with 25C. Sodium hypochlorite was an effective seed disinfectant. When the seeds were primed with sodium hypochlorite via solid matrix priming (SMP), germination under stressful conditions (soilcold test) was significantly improved in both cultivars. Primed seeds had significantly lower imbibitional rates and leakage conductivity than nonprimed seeds. The superior germination measured in primed and disinfected seeds was possibly due to the lower imbibitional rate and reduced seed fungal infection.