Optical sensing method to analyze germination rate of Capsicum annum seeds treated with growth-promoting chemical compounds using optical coherence tomography.

Abstract

Seed germination rate differs based on chemical treatments, and nondestructive measurements of germination rate have become an essential requirement in the field of agriculture. Seed scientists and other biologists are interested in optical sensing technologies-based biological discoveries due to nondestructive detection capability. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has recently emerged as a powerful method for biological and plant material discoveries. We report an extended application of OCT by monitoring the germination rate acceleration of chemically primed seeds. To validate the versatility of the method, Capsicum annum seeds were primed using three chemical compounds: sterile distilled water (SDW), butandiol, and 1-hexadecene. Monitoring was performed using a 1310-nm swept source OCT system. The results confirmed more rapid morphological variations in the seeds treated with 1-hexadecene medium than the seeds treated with SDW and butandiol within 8 consecutive days. In addition, fresh weight measurements (gold standard) of seeds were monitored for 15 days, and the obtained results were correlated with the OCT results. Thus, such a method can be used in various agricultural fields, and OCT shows potential as a rigorous sensing method for selecting the optimal plant growth-promoting chemical compounds rapidly, when compared with the gold standard methods.

Plant phenotyping relevance

OCTを用いて種子の発芽率・形態変化を非破壊計測する方法を提示し、処理条件間の結果を重量測定と相関させて検証しており、植物表現型取得法が中心です。

Code and data availability

The paper describes OCT imaging of Capsicum annum seeds and a custom MATLAB A-scan analysis program, but no public dataset, image repository, or code deposit is mentioned. No availability statement or authors' public URL for assets appears in the supplied blocks.

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