Rain and wheat seed quality

What is it about?

Rain falling on developing seed crops of wheat is generally assumed to damage seed quality. That is confirmed in this research, but we also show that the damage can be reversed with subsequent drying in planta if seed harvest is delayed.

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Why is it important?

Our research (see especially Figure 5) confirms a long-held suspicion of ours: during the period of seed development when seed quality improves, typically from the beginning of seed filling until close to harvest maturity in a cereal, the improvement in seed quality detected is net improvement whereby both improvement and deterioration occur, but the former is (usually) by far the greater. Similarly, once maximum seed quality has been attained, it is net loss in quality that is detected with, again, improvement and deterioration both possible, but in this case the latter is (usually) the greater. This helps to explain why the point in seed development and maturation when maximum quality is attained can vary with environment: in hostile environments, seed quality improvement can end prematurely.