The influence of temperature and moisture content on seed longevity of two genotypes of Linum usitatissimum

Quantitative relationships between seed moisture content and temperature and longevity enable better prediction of the storage life of seeds for agriculture or conservation. The objective of this investigation was to quantify the relationships and to determine seed viability constants for two genotypes ('Norman' and 'Urmia') of Linum usitatissimum. Seeds were stored at 5, 9, 13 and 17% moisture content and 15, 25, 35 and 45°C for 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150 and 180 days. Survival curves were fitted for each condition using probit analysis, resulting in estimates for σ which were then used to determine the viability constants. The viability constants K _E, C _W, C _H and C _Q estimated in this work were 5.201, 2.590, 0.03613 and 0.000015, respectively, for 'Norman' and 4.474, 2.185, 0.01467 and 0.000161, respectively, for 'Urmia'.