Application of diffusion technology for seed identification, determining critical time for germination, water diffusivity and enhancing germination of maize(Zea mays. L) genotypes

Diffusion technology developed earlier on the basis of the theory of diffusion concerning electrolyte/non-electrolyte (1987) has been further employed for determining seed constant for seed identification of two Ethiopian maize (Zea mays.L) genotypes viz. Rare -1 and Melkassa - 1 in our laboratory. The seed constant values obtained for the above genotypes are 0.1373*10 -3 and 0.0847*10 -3 respectively indicating clearly that the two maize varieties are genetically different from one another. The new theory of water diffusivity (2007) recently developed in the laboratory has also been applied for the determination of the critical time for germination and water diffusivity and these are found to be 15h, 141h, 0.2206*10 -5 cm 2 s -1 and 0.2063*10 -5 cm 2 s -1 respectively for the genotypes at 25°C. Laboratory germination test using bulk seeds and the above critical time for germination showed 100% germination for the genotypes and there was an increase of 6% and 8% in comparison to control experiments carried out under similar experimental conditions. These studies clearly showed that the critical time for germination determined by using the diffusion technology has improved the germination of the two maize varieties. The results are compared and discussed with those obtained earlier for other maize and wheat genotypes. The importance of diffusion technology for further work and applications in the area of seed science and technology are also highlighted.