MODELING OF THE KINETICS OF CRYOGENIC FREEZING OF LIMA BEAN SEEDS AS A FUNCTION OF INITIAL WATER CONTENT

ABSTRACT Cryopreservation is a technique used to preserve genetic material at ultra-low temperatures in cryogenic germplasm banks. In order to enable the cryopreservation of a seed, it is necessary to study its appropriate freezing temperature and its water content, because seeds reach maximum physiological quality with high water contents, and they tolerate drying when they are orthodox seeds, but they may not tolerate cryopreservation. Therefore, the objective of this study was to analyze the influence of initial water content (50 to 10% wet basis) on the kinetic behavior of the lima bean seed at the temperature of −150 °C, in addition to determining changes in its physiological quality (germination and vigor) when cryopreserved (−150 °C) for 30 days with the variation of initial water contents (50 to 10% wet basis). For this purpose, changes in lima bean size (length, width, and thickness), sphere-equivalent radius and volume, and kinetics of seed cryopreservation as a function of its water content. The Fourier model and the Cavalcanti-Mata & Duarte models I and II were used for cryopreservation modeling, in addition to proposing a new model for cryopreservation kinetics in which water content determines the kinetic behavior. The conclusion was that the water content of 10% wb should be used for the lima bean seed cryopreservation since its physiological quality was not affected by cryopreservation at −150 °C. The model that best represents the experimental data is Cavalcanti Mata & Duarte Model II.