Estimation of Seed Longevity in Onion Seed Lots by a Vigor Test of Radicle Emergence Test in Artificial Ageing Conditions
, Nurcan Memis 1 and Neslihan Kadioglu 1Round 1
Reviewer 1 Report
In this manuscript from Ibrahim Demir et al, the authors determined that the vigor test of single count of radicle emergence can correlate with the storage potential of onion seed cultivars lots in artificial storage conditions. They perform RE test by counting radicle emergencies percentage at 80 hours after germination and determined the seed longevity by storage at 75% relative humidity at 35°C over 60 days. Then they construct seed survival curves based on normal germination percentages and calculated the seed longevity criterion P50 through probit analysis. They discovered that RE counts were highly correlated with initial seed quality and half-viability period.
Strength: this manuscript is well written. The introduction provides sufficient background and include all relevant references. It would provide valuable reference information for better management of commercial seed storage.
Weakness: This study is lack of novelty. The authors have previously published several works on seed longevity and vigor test on different plant species. They applied almost the similar conceptualization, design, methodology and analysis to different species to create similar articles.
Minor Concerns:
1. Line 104, please explain what “Ki” means in biology.
2. Line 131-132, what is the difference between total germination (TG; %) and normal germination (NG; %). Please explain.
Author Response
Line 104; please explain what “Ki” means in biology.
Ki nominates the initial quality or seed lot quality and is based on the seed viability equation developed by Ellis and Roberts (1981). It is a part of the equation that shows the pre-storage factors in overall seed quality testing and it is given in probit value.
Line 131-132, what is the difference between total germination (TG; %) and normal germination (NG; %)? Please explain.
In seed technology, 2 mm radicle emergence (protrusion) is considered as total germination. However, normal germination is considered as those seeds that radicle emerged then developed normal seedlings as fully developed roots, shoots, hypocotyl, etc. (ISTA 2022).
Weakness: This study is lack of novelty. The authors have previously published several works on seed longevity and vigor test on different plant species. They applied almost similar conceptualization, design, methodology, and analysis to different species to create similar articles.
We do not agree. We published many papers in the same manner. However, we do not agree that the text is not a novelty. Namely, the RE test is widely studied in various crops and flower seeds in these days. In this text, we tested seed longevity and RE relationship in onion. This is a new aspect and approaches this was explained in the introduction section. We believe that the same methods as the RE test can be used for solving different problems in various species. This is an improvement and originality.
Reviewer 2 Report
The presented manuscript is written in a clear and understandable form. Data analysis and presented results are valuable in a field, made very thoughtfully. I would only suggest adding genus names in Latin in line 51. In general, I recommend this article for publication.
Author Response
The presented manuscript is written in a clear and understandable form. Data analysis and presented results are valuable in a field, made very thoughtfully. I would only suggest adding genus names in Latin in line 51. In general, I recommend this article for publication.
We added (Cucurbita maxima Duch. x Cucurbita moschata Duch.)
The sentence on lines 51-53 has been edited as the reviewer suggested. We added genus Latin names as follows,
“ For example, 48 h RE counts during germination in violas [5] and petunias [7], 120 hours in leeks [17], and more recently 30-34 hours in cucurbit rootstock seed (Cucurbita maxima Duch. x Cucurbita moschata Duch.) lots [18] were found to be related to seed longevity during artificial aging. “
Reviewer 3 Report
There are some problems need to be improved as follow
1 Line 96: the author mentioned “The percentage of normal seedlings was calculated after 12 days [9]”, however, the calculation method of the total germination percentage should be explained.
2 Some presentations for the normal percentage and the total germination capacity are clear in this manuscript, but perennial species maybe not similar with annual crop, especially there are some fresh seeds during germination. Hope it will be discussed in the certain part.
Author Response
Extensive editing of English language and style required.
The text was read by a native speaker. The name and email address were given below. Moreover, we can add a certificate in case needed.
Alec Rynolds, [email protected]
Line 96: the author mentioned “The percentage of normal seedlings was calculated after 12 days [9]”, however, the calculation method of the total germination percentage should be explained.
Total germination was calculated as percentage of seeds that showed as 2 mm radicle emergence out of all tested seeds in each sampling time. This was added to the text.
Some presentations for the normal percentage and the total germination capacity are clear in this manuscript, but perennial species maybe not similar to an annual crop, especially since there are some fresh seeds during germination. Hope it will be discussed in the certain part.
Thank you for that suggestions. Regarding seed germination aspects being an annual or perennial plant structure may not be a big deal. However, we studied onion seed germination in various papers in earlier stages. So not many fresh seeds were seen in the germination medium. Our observations are similar.
