In vivo monitoring of seeds and plant tissue water absorption using optical coherence tomography and optical coherence microscopy

First experimental results on OCT imaging of internal structure of plant tissues and in situ OCT monitoring of plant tissue regeneration at different water supply are reported. Experiments for evaluating OCT capabilities were performed on Tradescantia. The investigation of seeds swelling was performed on wheat seeds (Triticum L.), barley seeds (Hordeum L.), long-fibred flax seeds (Linum usitatissimum L.) and cucumber seeds (Cucumis sativus L.). These OCT images correlate with standard microscopy data from the same tissue regions. Seeds were exposed to a low-intensity physical factor - the pulsed gradient magnetic field (GMF) with pulse duration 0.1 s and maximum amplitude 5 mT (4 successive pulses during 0.4 s). OCT and OCM enable effective monitoring of fast reactions in plants and seeds at different water supply.