Effect of added moisture on the quality of stored hard red winter wheat seed

The objective of this study was to determine what effect adding moisture to stored grain would have on seed quality. Wheat cultivars were tempered to varying moisture levels (12.5, 13.5, 15.5 and 17.5%) and stored in polyethylene bags for 12 wk. Grains tempered to high moisture levels (15.5 and 17.5%) declined in quality during storage as indicated by decreased germination and increased electrolyte leakage of the seeds. Wheat tempered to 13.5% moisture for 12 wk did not show a deterioration in quality. Rates of water imbibition of wheat cultivars were also studied by sequentially weighing imbibing seeds. Cultivars differed significantly in their rates of imbibtion over 36 h, ranging from 18.5 to 24.25 mg g −1 h −1 . Moisture uptake for the seven wheat cultivars can be estimated by the following equation[Formula: see text]where T = time (R 2 = 0.96).Key words: Wheat (winter), seed quality, tempering, water-imbibition