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Low germination and vigor of rice seed associated with dry-seed broadcasting are common problems encountered by rice growers. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the role of potassium nitrate (KNO3) on the pattern of seed imbibition and to determine the effect of seed priming with KNO3 on the germination percentage, speed and uniformity of germination in rice seed. Experiment 1 compared the patterns of seed imbibition of six concentrations of KNO3 (0, 0.25, 0.50, 1.00, 1.50, and 2.00%) in two rice cultivars — KDML105 and RD15. The results showed that soaking rice seed in KNO3 at higher concentrations could delay the imbibition time. The higher concentrations of KNO3 delayed the imbibition time of rice seed and took a longer time to reach the end of phases 1 and 2 compared to the lower concentrations. The patterns of seed imbibition using distilled water of both rice cultivars (KDML105 and RD15) were quite similar, but with different concentrations of KNO3, the imbibition time taken to reach the end of phases 1 and 2 was slightly postponed in KDML105 suggesting that different rice cultivars may need different imbibition times for soaking seed in the priming process. Experiment 2 evaluated the effects of seed priming with 1.0 and 2.0% KNO3 at different imbibition times. It was found that priming with 1.0% KNO3 showed better seed germination than priming with 2.0% KNO3 and seed priming with 1.0% KNO3at the imbibition time of early phase 2 (or 28 h for KDML105) improved seed germination and increased both the speed and uniformity of seed germination. The results of this study show promise for the use of priming with 1.0% KNO3 soaked until early phase 2 of seed imbibition for improving the seed germination and vigor of rice in dry seed broadcasting.

Abstract: The evaluation of seed deterioration is very important to control the quality of the seeds stored. This study aimed to investigate the potential of fast ethanol assay for seed quality assessment of maize stored under different conditions. The first experiment was to determine the incubating temperature, incubating time, and amount of seed used in the assay. The results showed that the best protocol for the detection of headspace ethanol was incubation of 3 g of maize seed with 20% moisture content (wet basis) in a 20 mL gas chromatography vial at 70 °C for 1.5 h. The assay induced approximately 200-700 µg.L-1 of headspace ethanol, which was sufficient to identify seeds with different vigour levels. In the second experiment, the optimal conditions were used for quality assessment in aged maize seed stored for 12 months under different storage conditions. The increase in the ethanol production of stored maize seed under the controlled conditions (15 °C and 20% RH in the hermetic seal) was lower than under ambient conditions. The ethanol production levels of maize seed samples at the start of storage was significantly lesser than at six months storage (p < 0.05). The test limitations in deteriorated seed with different cultivars and ages will be discussed.

Durian (Durio zibethinus Murr.) is a seasonal fruit with a short harvesting period, requiring postharvest processing such as cutting, peeling, freeze-drying, cooking, and frying to enhance its shelf life and nutritional quality. In this study, fresh Monthong durian (MTD), MTD Sticks, MTD Cake, and MTD Chips were analyzed for polyphenols, phenolic acids, tannins, flavonoids and thermal stability. Antioxidant activity was assessed using Cupric Reducing Antioxidant Capacity and DPPH radical scavenger methods. Fourier transform infrared spectra characterized the functional groups in extracts, while protein stability was evaluated by electrophoresis. Polyphenols' interaction with human serum proteins showed varied binding affinities, influenced by glycation, particularly in diabetic conditions. MTD had the highest phenolic content, followed by MTD Sticks, Cake, and Chips. This study proposes that durian products, abundant in polyphenols and produced without added sugar during postharvest processing, could serve as functional foods, potentially supporting the management of glycation-related disorders such as diabetes., Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2024 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)