Effect of Constant Temperature Treatments Followed by Fluctuating Temperatures on the Softening of Hard Seeds of Trifolium subterraneum L

Three experiments are described in which the effects of constant temperatures ranging from 15 to 80°C, followed by diurnally fluctuating temperatures of 60/15°C were compared on seed softening in three cultivars of T. subterraneum. Constant temperature treatments alone produced relatively few soft seeds, but rapid seed softening ensued within a few days of subsequent fluctuating temperature treatment. The higher and the longer the constant temperature pretreatment, the more soft seeds were obtained. The rate at which this preconditioning of the seed took place was highest in the early stages of exposure to constant temperatures. Differences between cultivars and between temperature treatments were established mainly during this early period of constant temperature treatment. Rates of change of temperature in the 60/15°C fluctuation treatment were important in the final seed softening process: the slower the rate of temperature change the more soft seeds were produced. It is suggested that two distinct temperature dependent processes are involved in seed softening. The first appears to be a thermal degradation process which probably results in weakening of the strophiolar region. Fluctuating temperatures bring about the second stage of softening in which the strophiole is rendered permeable to water.