Kinetic modeling and multivariate analysis on germination parameters of quinoa varieties: Effects of storage temperatures and durations
Graphical abstract
Introduction
In the face of global warming, scientists have been in search of alternative species and varieties that can grow in marginal areas and meet the nutritional needs of the increasing world population. In this sense, the quinoa plant, which can grow easily in a wide range of climatic and soil conditions and thus resist drought and salinity (Kır and Temel, 2016), has been marked as a important crop by many authorities. Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.) grains do contain high amount and quality of proteins, fibers, vitamins and mineral contents which play a crucial role as a source to the human nutrition (Tan and Temel, 2019). Due to the gluten free constitution of the seeds, it is highly eligible for the Celiac patients (Jacobsen, 1993).
In order to obtain high seed quality, quality management based on vigorous seed materials is highly demanded (Arın, 2018). Therefore, determination of the best storage conditions for the particular genotype; however, it is not always possible to renew the seed every year achieving high germination performances in renewed seeds, is of great importance. Due to loss of seed viability as a result of improper storage conditions, post-harvest practises were faced to dramatic economical loses as seen in examples from South America where the farmers harvested only 40% of the grains as a finish product from their fields (Salas, 2003). As result of low quality management prior to the harvest, both producers and consumers are eventually faced with high sales prices (Geren and Kavut, 2020).
There are 1800 varieties of quinoa species and the seed physiological quality of each variety may vary depending on the genetic structure, seed size and moisture content (Roberts and Ellis, 1989). In addition, seed viability is significantly affected by the storage conditions such moisture content, temperature and duration. In particular, it has been stated that increasing storage duration and temperature reduce the germination rate and vigor of seeds (Strenske et al., 2015; Geren and Kavut, 2020). Therefore, maintenance of the seed vigor as long as possible must be priority for those seeds which can be deteriorated under improper warehouse conditions.
The stability of seeds during storage is dependent on both internal (i.e. seed quality, seed pH, water content, etc.) and external factors (i.e. hygiene, packaging systems and storage conditions, etc.) Seeds can be exposed to a wide variety of adverse environmental conditions during their storage and distribution. As a result of improper storage conditions, seeds can be deterioted and therefore may be rejected by its potential consumers. In order to avoid these drawbacks, a specific scientific method should be developed for the maintenance of seed vigor as much as possible. Therefore, the use of chemical kinetics approach in modeling changes in quality was proposed for the first time by Kwolek and Bookwalter (1971). Based upon to the mathematical evaluation of seed stability, it was reported that the selected criteria can be expressed in terms of three variables: quality criteria, storage duration and temperature (Zhou et al., 2019). No kinetic modeling study has been conducted to examine the changes in germination parameters of seeds after storage as yet.
This study provides a new insight into statistical assessments within the framework of the reaction kinetics (i.e. reaction order, reaction rate constants) of germination parameters in quinoa seeds during storage. To date, there has been no research conducted on the reaction kinetics of germination parameters either in a model solution or within the seed. Understanding the reaction kinetics of germination parameters may help to prevent quality losses during plant cultivation, seed processing and storage, and predict changes in composition during traditional seed processing. So, the main objective of this study was to determine find out the reaction kinetics of germination and growth parameters in einkorn wheat in polyethylene packages during storage at 4, 10, and 25 °C, and 360 days. In addition, various seed testing and growth parameters were also evaluated in einkorn wheat.
Section snippets
Plant materials
Quinoa cv. Mint Vanilla and Titicaca, was grown in 2018 growing season (March–August) at Igdır (39°55′51″ latitude and 44°08′40″ longitude), Northeast Anatolia of Turkey. The grains were hand-harvested at approximately 13.5% (for Mint Vanilla) and 13.8% (for Titicaca) [dry basis (d.b.)] moisture, and moved in cloth bags to the laboratory. Then, the plants were blended and the grains were distinguished from their stems and husks. Quina grains were harvested in August 2018 and kept at 5 °C in the
Moisture content
Moisture content (MC) of Mint Vanilla and Titicaca grains was ranging between 11% and 13.5% until 240 days of storage. According to statistical analysis results, there were significant differences in terms of MC for Mint Vanilla (df = 18,38; F = 8.65; P < 0.01) and Titicaca (df = 18,38; F = 5.45; P < 0.01). However, maximum MC was recorded in 360 days of storage at 10- and 25 °C, while the storage at 4 °C resulted in 10% of moisture in aforesaid cultivars. On the other hand, in both cultivars,
Discussion
Maintenance of seed viability and vigor until next crop season in general are influenced by seed quality and storage conditions. Many factors raised from improper harvesting, mishandling during processing, weak storage performances are of potential risks for the seed deterioration with a decrease in seed viability and vigor (Marcos-Filho, 2015). Especially for those with a poor seed quality in sub-tropical regions, quinoa grains as mentioned in this present study is a good example for the seed
Author statement
Hakan Kibar: Conceptualization, Methodology, Investigation, Resources, Data curation, Supervision, Project administration, Funding acquisition, Writing - Review & editing. Süleyman Temel: Investigation, Resources, Writing - review & editing. Buhara Yücesan: Investigation, Resources, Writing - original draft.
Declaration of competing interest
The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
Acknowledgments
We would like to thank Bolu Abant İzzet Baysal University Scientific Research Fund Coordinator for their support to this research (Project no: 2018.10.04.1313).
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