Effects of Drying Rates on the Desiccation Tolerance of Citrus maxima ‘Feizhouyou’ Seeds

The effects of drying rates on the desiccation tolerance of Citrus maxima ‘Feizhouyou’ seeds at different developmental stages were studied in this paper. For seeds harvested at 130 days after anthesis (DAA), 190 DAA, 245 DAA and 275 DAA, slow dried seeds had higher desiccation tolerance than those rapid dried, with difference at significant level (P < 005). However, such improvement was little for seeds harvested at 155 DAA and 220 DAA, indicating that effect of drying rate on desiccation tolerance depends on seed developmental stages. These results accorded with previous reports on orthodox soybean seeds and maize embrys. It was suggested that the effects of drying rate on desiccation tolerance of intermediate Citrus maxima ‘Feizhouyou’ seeds mainly resulted from expression and accumulation of some desiccation related proteins induced by slow drying. On the required genetic basis, desiccation tolerance in seeds can be induced only at suitable seed developmental stages.