Changes in content of sugars and their exosmose from maize kernels in relation to cold resistance

Changes in soluble sugar content in individual parts (embryo, endosperm and pericarp) of maize caryopses exposed to the influence of 24°, 10° and 6° were studied. At the same time the eluates from sand in which the seeds were planted and exposed for various periods were analysed by paper chromatography. It was found that the lower was the temperature of exposure the greater were the amounts of sucrose, glucose, raffinose and other sugars diffused from the caryopses into the medium before the start of germination. The exosmose course and the changes in sugar content in kernel tissues proved that the hydrolysis of storage polysaccharides is not inhibited by low temperatures but that under such conditions the use of products of hydrolysis for the growth of the embryo is inhibited. It is concluded that not only surface parts of endosperm but also the embryo participates in exosmose. The relatively high sugar exosmose found from seeds germinated at low temperatures explains the well-known interaction of pathogenic and parasitic microorganism in cold resistance during emergence.