The effect of storage in polythene on the development on hard seed in the West Australian blue lupin

Abstract

Hard-seededness in the West Australian blue lupin (Lupinus varius L.) is closed related to moisture content. Freshly harvested seed has a high moisture content (18 per cent or more), the seeds are soft and capable of immediate germination. The moisture content of stored seedfalls rapidly during the summer months reaching 10 to 11 per cent by mid-summer. At this stage the seeds become hard and impermeable to water. Scarification is not a satisfactory technique for improving the germination of these seeds. An alternative technique-storing in polythene lined cornsacks soon after harvest, when the moisture content is 13 to 14 per cent-is described. This technique controlled the moisture loss and prevented the development of hard-seededness. Viability of the seed was not reduced but subsequent field germination was increased by approximately 100 per cent.