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Influence of Ammonia Vapors on the Dry Seeds of Soybean, Corn, and Peanut 1
Author(s) -
Woodstock Lowell W.,
Hensin Tsao
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
crop science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.76
H-Index - 147
eISSN - 1435-0653
pISSN - 0011-183X
DOI - 10.2135/cropsci1986.0011183x002600030043x
Subject(s) - arachis hypogaea , glycine , germination , zea mays , ammonia , biology , agronomy , horticulture , zoology , amino acid , biochemistry
The toxic effects of ammonia (NH 3 ) on dry seeds of soybean [ Glycine max (L) Merr.], corn ( Zea mays L.), and peanut ( Arachis hypogaea L.) were assessed in this study. Soybean seeds were killed after a 24‐h exposure at 15 mg L −1 , whereas corn seeds were killed at only 1.5 mg L −1 . The toxic effects of NH 3 became more severe with exposure duration, e.g., in soybean, 15 mg L −1 NH 3 killed seeds after 24 h, but not after a 2‐h exposure. Injury response of seeds to ammonia in the cold (5°C) was less severe than that at 25°C. Conductivity tests of steep water detected the injurious effects of toxic levels of NH 3 on seeds. However, nontoxic levels of NH 3 also increased leachate conductivity. It is concluded that levels of NH 3 like|y to be encountered in refrigerated warehouses following a leak (0.015 to 0.15 mg L −1 , i.e., 20 to 200 ppm) are unlikely to have an adverse effect on the germination or growth of soybean, peanut, or corn seeds.