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Calcium Content, Adenylate Energy Level, and Seed Vigor in Peanuts¹

Germination disorders and seed calcium deficiency are frequently associated in Virginia peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) cultivars, while neither condition is common in Spanish peanuts. Embryonic Ca concentration was compared with (a) germination percentage after 3 days of cold treatment and (b) total adenylate pool in the embryonic axis after 12 hours of germination in the parents and F₃ embryos of a Virginia x Spanish cross. Ca concentration was found to be positively correlated with germination percentage and total adenylates for plants of the Virginia parent and the cross but not for the Spanish parent. Means for the percent cold germination, Ca concentration and total adenosine phosphates were at least 85% greater for the Spanish than for the Virginia parent. High means for adenylate concentration and percent cold germination for the F₃ progeny suggested that the genetic variance for these traits was nonadditive, while intermediate Ca values for the progeny suggested that additive genetic variance was important in the inheritance of seed Ca concentration. The adenylate assay correlated with differences in seed vigor among the parents and F₃ progeny but was less sensitive than Ca concentration in detecting differences within populations. Energy charge (E.C.) values calculated from adenylate data according to the formula E.C. = [(ATP) + 1/2 (ADP)]/[(ATP) + (ADP) + (AMP)] were not significantly correlated with germination percentage, implying that respiratory phosphorylation rate in early germination was not as limiting as other factors in peanut seed germination. High broad-sense heritability estimates for Ca concentration (H = 0.68), percent cold germination (H = 0.74) and total adenylates (H = 0.88) suggest that seed quality as related to the above parameters can be improved through breeding.

Key Words: Arachis hypogaea L. • Seed quality • Heritability • Germination

² Graduate associate and associate professors of crop science, respectively, North Carolina State Univ., Raleigh, NC 27650.

Received for publication December 9, 1977.