| Abstract: | Muskmelon (Cucumis melo L.) embryos are enclosed in an envelopeof tissue consisting of a layer of endosperm and a multi-cell-layeredperisperm that the radicle must penetrate for germination tooccur. The force and energy required to penetrate the perispermenvelope tissue were measured using an Instron universal testingmachine at a crosshead speed of 5 mm min–1 after 0, 10,15, 22, 23, and 25 h of imbibition at 25C. The cellular structureof perisperm envelope tissue surrounding the radicle was observedafter 10, 15, 20, 25, and 48 h of imbibition using scanningelectron microscopy. The force required to puncture 5-mm-long,micropylar seed pieces declined steadily from 1.65 N in driedseeds to 0.65 N after 21 h of imbibition. The penetration energydeclined from 3.0 N mm in dry seeds to 1.1 N mm at 21 h afterthe start of imbibition when the first seeds germinated. Theforce and energy required to penetrate germinated seed pieceswere 0.55 N and 0.9 N mm, respectively, so the net punctureforce and energy needed to rupture the micropylar region ofthe perisperm envelope was roughly 0.10 N and 0.2 N mm at radicleemergence, respectively. Instron measurements of penetrationforce and energy decreased dramatically at crosshead speedsless than the 5 mm min–1. Crosshead speeds greater than5 mm min–1 may overestimate the pressure needed to ruptureperisperm and endosperm tissues. Intracellular cracks were firstobserved in SEM images 15 h after the start of imbibition, andafter 20 h cracking was apparent throughout the micropylar regionof the perisperm envelope. The perisperm envelope ruptured inone of two ways, coincident with radicle emergence. In approximately85% of muskmelon seeds, a large crack formed in the perispermenvelope adjacent to the radicle, while in roughly 15 % a circulararea of the perisperm envelope detached during radicle emergence.In dead seeds, the penetration force remained constant from10–24 h after the start of imbibition, and there wereno visible signs of tissue degradation. Cellular degradationand weakening of the perisperm envelope tissue precedes radicleemergence in muskmelon seeds. Key words: Seed, Instron, turgor, cell wall, electron microscopy, Cucumis melo |
