Abstract
It has been reported that the internal radiation by means of β-emitting radioisotopes, such as 32P and 35S, might be useful for the mutation induction in crop plants.
In this experiment, the influences of different conditions at seed treatment, i.e, soaking time, temperature, physiological condition of seed, etc., on the RI absorption and some biological effects were investigated.
It was observed that the RI absorption by seed took place actively after their root protrusion. In dormant seed treatment, thus, there was much variation in amount of absorbed RI among seeds, depending on the lack of uniformity of germination.
The amount of RI absorption was not so changed by the different soaking temperatures unless it was too low for germination, but changed by the different volumes of treated RI solution (ml/seed), and the kind of seed bed for soaking.
It was suggested that the treatment of pre-soaked and germinated seed was more efficient for shortening of soaking time and keeping uniformity of RI absorption among treated seeds. In the case of 32P treatment for germinated barley seed, however, the physiological damages in treated generation and mutation frequency in next generation were slightly lower compared with that of dry seed treatment.
