Physiological responses of Limonium aureum seeds to ultra-drying

The seeds of Limonium aureum (L.) Hill. were dried from 8.92% to 2.88% moisture content in a desiccating container with silica gel. After ultra-drying the seeds were accelerated aged (50 degrees C, 1 month), and some physiological indices, including the electrical conductivity, dehydrogenase activity, superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD), glutathlone reductase (GR), ascorbate peroxidase (APX), catalase (CAT), volatile aldehydes and malondialdehyde (MDA) were tested. The results indicated that dehydrogenase, POD, SOD, GR, APX and CAT activities of the ultra-dry seeds were higher than the control seeds, while volatile aldehydes and malondlaldehyde were lower than the control group. The results suggest that ultra-drying is beneficial for maintaining the vigor of L. aureum seeds at a high level. Thus, L. aureum seeds could be stored under ultra-dry conditions.