Proper seed storage (Liveseed Practice abstract)

What causes seed ageing? Seed ageing is caused by oxidation of the cell membranes, mitochondria, DNA, RNA and proteins in the seeds. This oxidation is stimulated by four factors: seed moisture level, temperature, oxygen and time. The main factors stimulating this ageing are moisture and oxygen. How to reduce ageing Keep sealed commercial seed packages closed until use, to avoid moisture uptake from the air. Never store an open package in a cold place like a refrigerator, were the humidity is high and the seeds will absorb moisture. If not all seeds are used, store the remainder in a dry environment. For this we developed an easy system with a ‘seed drying and storage box’ (Fig 2). The principle is an airtight transparent box. In the box is a bag with silica gel and a relative humidity (RH) meter. The optimal RH is between 20 and 40%. Home produced seeds can also be dried in the box. If the RH surpasses the 40%, the silica gel needs to be regenerated in an oven at 100 °C. The dried silica gel can be cooled down in a closed clean jam jar or alike. It is possible to store the airtight box with seeds in a cooler place, to reduce ageing further. For larger amount of seeds the box could be replaced by a large vacuum bag, as available for storage of clothes

Komt tijd, komt raad?

Dit artikel beschrijft een onderzoek naar het uitstel gedrag van 84 personen met ‘psychische klachten’ die daarvoor hun huisarts hebben geraadpleegd. De vraag of de huisarts centraal staat in de gezondheidszorg is niet eenduidig te beantwoorden. Het is echter wel duidelijk dat hij een belangrijke plaats in de psychosociale hulpverlening inneemt

Exploring the Involvement of the Alternative Respiratory Pathway in Pisum sativum L. Seed Germination

Proceeding PaperOrganic agriculture, recognized as a more sustainable agricultural system, strongly de-pends on the use of highly resilient genotypes. Resilient seeds, with increased tolerance to germinate and provide vigorous seedlings under environmental stresses, currently represent one of the most important agronomical traits. Seed germination involves the activation of several metabolic path-ways, including cellular respiration. Alternative oxidase (AOX), a key enzyme in the alternative respiratory pathway, plays a crucial role in regulating cell reprogramming by controlling metabolic transitions related to the cellular redox state and the variable carbon balance. The involvement of the alternative respiratory pathway during germination was explored by analysis of PsAOX gene/protein expression. Seeds of four Pisum sativum L. cultivars (‘Respect-1′, ‘S134′, ‘G78′ and ‘S91′) were imbibed in sterile tap water for 16 h and metabolic parameters measured by calorespirometry (heat and CO2 emission rates) in a Multi-Cell Differential Scanning Calorimeter in isothermal mode at 25 °C. The involvement of PsAOX was evaluated by transcript quantification (PsAOX1, PsAOX2a, and PsAOX2b) through RT-qPCR, and by of analysing the PsAOX expression through Western blot. The results demonstrate that the cv. ‘S91′, characterized by a low germination rate, exhibited the lowest metabolic heat and CO2 emission rate. However, contrary to expectations, PsAOX transcript accumulation and PsAOX protein expression were significantly higher for ‘S91′ than for the other cultivars. These results indicate that higher levels of AOX (transcript and protein) could be linked to lower metabolic rates for embryo growth when seed germination is compromisedinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Organic seed health. An inventory of issues and a report on case studies.

This report describes the state of the art and research results on the production of heathy organic seeds, as performed in the frame of the LIVESEED project, with support from the European Horizon 2020 program. Organic seed health is based on a multitude of factors and cannot simply be managed through one-size-fits-all solutions such as curative seed treatments. Use of seeds produced under organic conditions can also have benefits, as organic soils may have a richer and more diverse microbiome and part of this microbiome enters the seed during development. Although much more research is needed, there are indications that certain microorganisms in this seed microbiome play a role in tolerance of the emerging seedling toward biotic and abiotic stress in the field. In the frame of the LIVESEED project, case studies have been performed on some of these issues, with the aim of providing background information and tools to tackle them

Thoughts for a new seed quality strategy, incorporating seed vigour and the microbiome

Official seed tests determine seed quality, using standardised lab conditions with an early and final count of germinated seeds and counting the frequency of normal seedlings, while seed health is considered as the absence of seed borne pathogens. In the field however, the seed or seedling will encounter biotic and abiotic stresses, therefore emergence in the field is often less than germination in the lab. In the field seed vigour is important. To favour the development of more resilient cropping systems, we suggest to place more emphasis on seed vigour , because early emergence in the field has a strong effect on crop establishment and frequently also on costs for corrective measures and total yield,. The ISTA handbook lists vigour tests, including the so-called controlled deterioration (CD) test, but only for a very limited number of crops. In the frame of the European LIVESEED project1,2 we develop a new organic seed health strategy, which will also has advantages for other sustainable farming systems. The basic idea is that both seed vigour and the seed microbiome should be taken into account as elements that can aid the seed and seedling tolerance towards biotic and abiotic stresses. We showed that a CD treatment, inducing slight reduction in carrot seed vigour, increased the sensitivity to the damping-off causing pathogen Alternaria radicina. Seeds are not sterile organisms, they contain a large amount of micro-organisms, collectively called the seed microbiome, that enable transfer of the microbiota from the mother plant to the next generation. Recent research has shown that the seed microbiome contains also organisms that can aid the seedling in its tolerance, sometimes even resistance, towards pathogens and abiotic stress. An overview of this will be presented, including how this can aid in a strategy towards more resilient cropping systems

Health related quality of life in patients with multiple myeloma undergoing a double transplantation

Objectives: To investigate the subjective well-being of patients with newly diagnosed multiple myeloma who were treated in a tandem transplantation programme. Methods: Fifty-one patients participated in the prospective, longitudinal questionnaire study. The EORTC QLQ-C30 and the EuroQol-5D were administered 2 wk after completion of vincristine, adriamycin and dexamethason/vincristine, adriamycin and methyl prednison (VAD/VAMP) chemotherapy, both at hospital discharge after treatment with high-dose melphalan (HDM) and 1 month after this hospital discharge, at hospital admission, at the day of hospital discharge for peripheral stem cell transplantation (PSCT) and at 6 and 12 months following discharge after PSCT. Results: Overall, patients' functioning improved during treatment and follow-up, with significant decreases shortly following PSCT. Shortly after HDM and PSCT, patients reported a considerable increase in levels of soreness in the mouth (+ 26/ + 36 points on a scale ranging form 0 to 100; P < 0.01), change of taste (+ 23/ + 21 points; P < 0.05/ NS), nausea/vomiting (+ 26