Studies on the Storage of Rice Seeds : I. Influences of temperature and moisture content on the longevity of rice seeds and methods of drying seeds

It is most desirable to prolong the longevity of rice seeds for increasing the certification of seeds as the genetic stocks and improving the efficiency of seed raising. From these standpoints, the authors have been studying on the storage of rice seeds since 1957. In this report, the relation between relative humidity and equilibrium moisture content of seeds was first given. And the longevity of seeds with different moisture contents was reported showing that the seeds with 19-10 % moisture maintained their vitality for over 480 days at 0°C, while the deterioration of vitality occurred in less than 60-430 days for the seeds with 18-8 % moisture at 30°C. As to the drying seeds, hot air drying at 40-60°C was proved to be far more efficient in preparing the dried seeds of 7-4 % moisture than the drying by desiccants such as quick lime or silica gel.