DRYING OF WHEAT SEEDS TO LOW SEED MOISTURE FOR GENEBANK STORAGE

The aim of this study is to describe the effect of desiccation of wheat seeds intended for genebank storage using relationships between seed longevity and seed moisture. Seeds of three cultivars bread winter wheat (T. aestivum L.): Sadovo 1, Sadovo 772 and Katya, and three cultivars of durum wheat (T.durum Desf): Progress, Vazhod and Beloslava were used. The level of equilibrium seed moisture was achieved at four variants of air relative humidity and temperature: 40.2%, 24.22 o C; 29.7%, 27.17 o C; 19.7%, 24.14 o C and 11.6%, 17.70 o C. Page’s model was used to describe the experimental data of seed sorption drying. The differences in seed survival induced both by desiccation rate and by cold storage under real genebank conditions were detected using viability constants of stored seeds. The observed seed longevity (σ) of wheat accessions did not differ significant in relation to drying rate (relative humidity from 40.2 % to 11.6 %). The results showed that seed desiccation up to 6.05-6.35% for T. aestivum and up to 5.80-6.10% for T. durum is not deleterious for seeds under genebank conditions.