Amazonian peach palm seeds methods comparation of water content determination by quadratic plateau regression

ABSTRACT Given the recalcitrant nature of peach palm seeds, which results in high sensitivity to desiccation, more effective approaches to seed quality monitoring are extremely important and justify the need to provide an efficient method to determine their moisture content. For seeds which are considered to be larger (thousand seed weight > 200 g), seed preparation is required, but it is impractical owing to endocarp hardness. The objective of this work was to compare methods of evaluating the moisture content of peach palm seeds, aiming to identify an straightforward method for the species. Different seed preparation and drying methods (oven method at 105 ± 3 °C, low temperature at 103 ± 2 °C, and high temperature at 130 ± 2 °C) were tested. For all methods tested, the beginning of weighing took place after the first hour, and continued until the mass of each repetition became constant for two consecutive measurements. The data were analyzed by nonlinear quadratic plateau regression to evaluate the stabilization period of water content. Thus, the oven method at 130 °C for four hours (with whole seeds) is recommended.

摘要：鉴于桃棕榈（peach palm）种子具有顽拗性，对干燥胁迫高度敏感，因此开发更为高效的种子品质监测方法至关重要，亟需建立一套可快速测定其水分含量的有效方案。对于千粒重（thousand seed weight）＞200g的大粒种子，虽需开展种子前处理，但因内果皮（endocarp）坚硬，该流程难以实际施行。本研究旨在对比多种桃棕榈种子水分含量的测定方法，以期为该物种筛选出简便易行的检测途径。试验共测试了不同的种子前处理与干燥方案：包括105±3℃烘箱法（oven method）、103±2℃低温干燥法以及130±2℃高温干燥法。所有测试方法均在样品放置1小时后启动称重，持续至每组重复样品的两次连续称量结果质量保持恒定。研究采用非线性二次平台回归（nonlinear quadratic plateau regression）分析水分含量的稳定周期。综上，推荐采用130℃烘箱法（使用完整种子）干燥4小时。