2008 Volume 2 Issue 1 Pages 180-184
The effect of high hydrostatic pressure (HHP) treatment on rooting ability of mung bean seeds was investigated. Water content of mung beans was adjusted by immersing the beans in water at 25°C for a specific time. The mung bean seeds (water content 7, 15, 25%) were treated with HHP (100-600MPa) at 25°C for 10min. Three sets of 100 seeds for each pressure condition were applied to the treatment and HHP-treated mung beans were incubated at 25°C for testing the rooting ability. The dry mung beans (water content, 7%) showed high sprouting ratio regardless of the applied pressure. As for mung beans of intermediate water content (15%), emergence of the root was delayed and the sprouting ratio was low. Furthermore, the mung bean seeds with higher water content (25%) showed very low emerged root ratio and no sprouting even at a relatively low pressure of 100 MPa. It was clarified that pressure-resistance of mung beans was significantly affected by water content. Higher water content gave lower sprouting ratio even at low pressures. For efficient microbial inactivation and spouting, the water content of mung beans should not be high.
