Quantification of seed–soil contact of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) using X-ray Computed Tomography

Blunk, Sebastian, Malik, Ali Hafeez, de Heer, Martine I., Ekblad, Tobias, Bussell, Jennifer S., Sparkes, Debbie L., Fredlund, Kenneth, Sturrock, Craig J. and Mooney, Sacha J. (2017) Quantification of seed–soil contact of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris) using X-ray Computed Tomography. Plant Methods, 13 (71). ISSN 1746-4811

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Abstract

Abstract

Background: Seed–soil contact is important to ensure successful germination, however, there is a paucity of reported studies that have quantified the microstructure at and around this critical interface, mainly due to the opacity of soil.

Results: Here we describe a novel methodology to non-destructively calculate the seed–soil contact area using X-ray Computed Tomography. Under controlled conditions, we observed that seed–soil contact was strongly influenced by the size and type of seed, with a seed–soil contact of ca. 15% for naked sugar beet seeds compared to ca. 32% for pelleted and coated seeds. Similar results were obtained for seeds sampled from the field albeit with a higher spatial variability.

Conclusions: By application of this new quantification method it is hoped seed enhancement technologies can be optimised and ultimately seedbed preparation improved to ensure better germination.

Item Type: Article
RIS ID: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/879446
Keywords: Sugar beet, Germination, Seeds, Seed–soil contact, X-ray Computed Tomography
Schools/Departments: University of Nottingham, UK > Faculty of Science > School of Biosciences > Division of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences
Identification Number: 10.1186/s13007-017-0220-4
Depositing User: Eprints, Support
Date Deposited: 03 Nov 2017 14:02
Last Modified: 04 May 2020 19:02
URI: https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/id/eprint/47826

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