Standing Committee on Seed Quality Ing. Johan Van Asbrouck An Application For Predicting Storability Of Seeds Based Upon The Ellis & Roberts Equation

Overview Introduction Background Idea and proposal Discussion

Introduction

At a previous meeting… Seed Longevity and Vigor as Affected by Inner and Ambient Moisture: Theory and Principles Speaker: Fiona Hay (Scientist, T. T. Chang Genetic Resources Centre, International Rice Research Institute, Philippines) Request from a member to produce a tool that would give easy access to the Ellis & Roberts equation.

Extract of the request “ … Dr. Yoon also made a comment after the presentation about the Kew SID website - that it is not very easy to use; I entirely agree that it is not user-friendly and I have been thinking that we should be able to do something better. Nor does it actually cover many crops that are relevant for APSA members. Further, it has not been updated for a while and there may be a few papers where species viability constants (for use in the equations) have been published but are not included in the dropdown list. This is partly because commercial crops are not a priority for Kew (nor are seed companies!). My suggestion is that the APSA SC on seed quality considers creating a stream- lined version with a very different user-interface, and perhaps graphical output. The species covered could be only those that are relevant to APSA members. In addition, that the committee enlists members to do the necessary laboratory experiments to derive the viability constants for species for which the constants have not yet been published. These experiments are relatively simple, although take some time. I do think that this would be a valuable and tangible output of the committee, …”

Extract of the request “ … Dr. Yoon also made a comment after the presentation about the Kew SID website - that it is not very easy to use; I entirely agree that it is not user-friendly and I have been thinking that we should be able to do something better. Nor does it actually cover many crops that are relevant for APSA members. Further, it has not been updated for a while and there may be a few papers where species viability constants (for use in the equations) have been published but are not included in the dropdown list. This is partly because commercial crops are not a priority for Kew (nor are seed companies!). My suggestion is that the APSA SC on seed quality considers creating a stream- lined version with a very different user-interface, and perhaps graphical output. The species covered could be only those that are relevant to APSA members. In addition, that the committee enlists members to do the necessary laboratory experiments to derive the viability constants for species for which the constants have not yet been published. These experiments are relatively simple, although take some time. I do think that this would be a valuable and tangible output of the committee, …”

Background

Ellis & Roberts Seed Viability Equation (1980) The viability equations were developed from the 1960s onwards and underpin all seed conservation practices. They predict the proportion of seeds in a population that are viable after any period of storage in a wide range of environments and are of use to both seed bank managers and researchers investigating seed longevity. From the KEW Gardens website v = final viability (expressed as NEDs or probits) after p days storage. p = storage time (days) m = % moisture content (fresh weight basis) t = temperature (°C) K i = initial viability of the seed lot at p = 0 days (seed lot constant) K E = species-specific overall aging constant C W = species-specific moisture content constants C H and C Q = species-specific temperature constants

Initial germination Seed Moisture Content TemperatureTemperature TimeTime Final germination Equilibrium Relative Humidity

Already today this tool is available By using the website of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew Predict storage time Predict final viability Estimate moisture content to give viability at known temperature Estimate temperature to give viability at known moisture content Plus some other very useful tools such as Calculate seed equilibrium moisture content from known environmental conditions and oil content Calculate equilibrium relative humidity from known temperature, seed fresh weight and known oil content

One screen shot

theoretical longevity for Chili seeds Ellis & Roberts equation (constants used: Demir et al) Begin germination 90% Red: 30˚C and 11% SMC Blue: 30˚C and 7% SMC

Chili seed longevity in relation to RH

A quick view into a draft version of the application This application has been made for our internal use and calculation of drying bead quantities By Centor Brasil & UC Davis

Idea & Proposal

Target: To produce, maintain and update a tool based upon the Ellis & Roberts equation with the aim to: Bring an easy to use system that can predict seed longevity under certain environmental conditions. To make the inputs and outputs as user friendly as possible Therefore we need to: Develop, check and maintain a database with the needed species viability constants. Setup a user friendly platform with easy (but controlled) access. Develop and maximize the (graphical) output interface.

Expected Budgets Workgroup costs for meetings etc.4,000 USD Development of the Seed Viability App Design 1,500 USD Viability graph & application 1,800 USD Login, user registration / control 800 USD Introduction pages (2-3 &text only) 900 USD Programming3,000 USD 8,000 USD Yearly maintenance for the website, updates for the database 5,000 USD/Year Timeframe – website could be up and running in October 2014

What on the income side? If we would ask a yearly fee – for a one-user registration – of 20$/year for APSA members and 40$ for non-APSA members, and we would obtain: 150 APSA members3,000 USD 150 non APSA members 6,000 USD 9,000 USD A break-even would be obtained in 3 Years Another option would be to find a sponsorship from a major company for helping us to develop and maintain this database (would be prominently figured on the application); This sponsorship could be a 12,000 USD for the first year and a 5,000 USD for all subsequent years

Discussion

Beta Version

Any comments, ideas, questions or remarks?

Thank you all for your input Our aim is to bring support and value to our members Standing Committee on Seed Quality