SEED COATING SYSTEM TO UPGRADE BRASSICACEAE SEED QUALITY BY EXPLOITING SINAPINE LEAKAGE

The objective of this study was to develop a seed coating system to detect poor quality seeds in the Brassicaceae. The crops studied represented three horticultural Brassicas, one agronomic Brassica and one flower species. Imbibition studies revealed that all seedlots imbibed > 90% water after a four hour soak. Sinapine, and indigenous fluorescent compound, leaked more (42 to 300%) from deteriorated than non-deteriorated seeds. A system was developed to effectively upgrade seed quality by exploiting leakage of sinapine. Seeds were first hydrated, then coated with an adsorbent to trap the sinapine leakage. Coated seeds were dried, then sorted into two fractions: fluorescent and non-fluorescent. Sowing the non-fluorescent seeds resulted in a greater percent normal seedlings than sowing non-coated seeds in all seedlots. The fluorescent fraction contained a high percentage of the dead and abnormal seedlings.