Seed
Ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm which develops following
fertilization and contains an embryo surrounded by a protective cover. Other food
reserves storing tissues (e.g endosperm) may be present in the mature seed
A propagule that contains the next generation of a plant.
Botanical sense: Ripened ovule containing an embryo.
Agricultural definition: Any part of the plant which is used for further production
or propagation of crops is called seed.
Cereals grain
Sugarcane cuttings
Sweet potato roots
Bryophyllum leaves
Potato tubers
Grain
According to FAO
“Grain is mature seed commonly of cereals and legumes that is used for
consumption by humans or animals directly or in directly for malting,
milling or other further processing and not for planting”.
Grain may or may not be capable of germination under favorable
environmental conditions and of growing into a normal plant.
Some authors preferentially reserve the term seed to that which is
marketed and used for sowing.
Cereal kernels were the original basis of the grains standard for the
weight and measures.
Grain Legumes
Those species of legumes whose seeds are used for human food and in
some cases as animal feed e.g. beans, peas, soybeans, chickpea, lentils.
Cereals
Dry, indehiscent fruit derived from one carpel. Cereals are food plants
belonging to the grass family, Poaceae and are preliminary cultivated for
their grains.
Cereals grains provide about half the energy consumed by the human
worldwide; more if the animal feed is counted.
Millet: The term is used for small seeded cereals.
Caryopsis
A term traditionally applied to the fruit of the grasses. It is small indehiscent
fruit having a single seed with such a thin closely adherent pericarp (fruit coat)
that a single unit ,the grain is formed.
Similar to achene, but the pericarp is not readily distinguishable from seed
coat.
Achene
A one seeded, dry, indehiscent fruit with the seed attached to the fruit wall at
one point only. It is derived from one-loculed superior ovary. Seed coat is
insignificant compared with fruit coat (pericarp) e.g. sunflower, lettuce, sugar
beet, Buckwheat (three seeded achene).
Radish
Siliqua
It is a fruit (seed capsule) of 2 fused carpels with the length
being more than three times the width. It is dry and
dehiscent fruit e.g. Brassica family
Pulses
Seeds of grains legumes that are stored generally in the dry
state and directly used for food .
In Indian subcontinent
Whole pulse grain Gram
Split pulse Daal
Importance of seeds
• Seeds are major source of food.
• Seeds occupy a prominent position in world
trade, with export values of many millions of
dollars
• Minor food seeds as snack foods and in
confectionary are sunflower, pine nuts, pumpkin,
sesame, watermelon etc.
• Nuts are important for direct consumption or as a
minor source of edible oils.
• Many spicy seeds are used as food flavors or
as medicinal.
• Seed of many species are important food
source for numerous wild and domesticated
animals.
• The identification of the seeds or seed parts is
sometimes an important contribution to
evidence presented in animal investigation
and legal cases (archaeobotany).
STRUCTURE OF SEED
There are three components of seeds
1. Embryo
2. Food store
3. Covering structure- seed coat
1. Embryo
• Developed by cell division and growth from
zygote which is the diploid product of fusion of
egg nucleus and one of the pollen nuclei at
fertilization
• Radicle
• Plumule
• Epicotyl
• Hypocotyl
• Cotyledons
• Coleoptile: The basal sheath of cotyledons is
elongated to form a coleoptile covering leaves
• Mesocotyl: In maize, hypocotyl is modified to
form a mesocotyl
• Coleorhiza is regarded as the base of hypocotyl
sheathing the radicle
• Not all seeds contain mature embryo when
liberated from mother plant (orchid seeds
contain minute and poorly formed embryos
and no endosperm)
•
• Scutellum
• Single cotyledon is much reduced and modified
to form scutellum
• Functionally similar to cotyledons of dicot
embryo but it does not emerge from seed and
develop into a leaf a`er germination
• It degrades within seed when mobilization of
stored reserves is completed
• Scutellum plays an important role in
establishing interaction b/w embryo and
endosperm
2. Food store
Endosperm-perisperm-megagametophyte
a. Endospermic (Albuminous) seeds
• The major reserve tissue is endosperm (cereals, caster
bean, date palm)
• The true endosperm result from triple fusion of one of
the haploid pollen nuclei and two haploid polar nuclei
in the embryo sac
Perispermic Seed. The endospermic seed having no
endosperm at maturity. The major reserve tissue in
these is the perisperm which is derived from nucellus
of ovule
• Perisperm is diploid maternal tissue in contrast to true
endosperm e.g chenopodiaceae, cactaceae, sugar beet
b. Non-endospermic (Exalbuminous) seeds
• Those seeds with no discrete endosperm
• Endosperm and its food material mostly or
co m p lete ly used up during embryo
development
• Endosperm may be only a remnant of that
broken down during seed development
(soybean and peanut)
• It may be only one to a few cell layers thick
(lettuce)
• Coffee seed. The perisperm is principal storage
organ but no endosperm
3. Seed coat
• Provide mechanical and chemical protection for
embryo and food store inside
• Provide means of dispersal e.g. wings, hairs
• Seed covering may be impermeable to water, O2
• Seed coat is derived from integuments of ovule
thus wholly maternal
• Coats may contain mucilaginous cells for water
retention
• Phenolics in seed coat that restrict exchange of
gasses b/w embryo and environment
Bewley et al. 2013. Seeds: Physiology of
Development and Germination. Plenum Press, New
York
COMPOSITION OF SEED
Carbohydrates
Fats and oils (lipid)
Proteins
Phytin
Other constituents (alkaloids, phytosterols,
phenolic compounds)
Cereals
Cereals Protein Oil CH2O Major storage
organ
Barley 12 3 76 Endosperm
Maize 10 5 80 Endosperm
Oat 13 8 66 Endosperm
Rye 12 2 76 Endosperm
Wheat 12 2 75 Endosperm
Legumes
Legumes Protein Oil CH2O Major storage
organ
Broad bean 23 1 56 Cotyledons
Pea 25 1.3 60 Cotyledons
Lentil 24 1.9 45 Cotyledons
Chick pea 21 5.4 44 Cotyledons
Ground nut 31 48 12 Cotyledons
Soybean 50 21 26 Cotyledons
Others
Castor bean 18 64 Negligible Endosperm
Oil palm 9 49 28 Endosperm
Pine 35 48 6 Megagametophyte
Rape 21 48 19 Cotyledons
Moringa 38 40
CH2O storage in seeds
• Major storage substance in most of cultivated plants especially cereals
• Cereals and grasses rich in CH2O low in fats and proteins
• Peas and beans are moderately high in CH2O low in proteins and very low
lipids
• Starch storage organells are known as amyloplasts
• Major forms of CH2O in plant seeds
• Starch
• Hemicellulose
• Pectic substrances
• mucilages
Storage protein
• Proteins whose primarily role is as a store of carbon,
nitrogen and sulphur which are utilized to support
germination and early seedling growth
• An organelle present in the storage tissues of seeds
that contain storage proteins is called protein body
• Dicots are rich source of protein
Fats and oils
• Most storage lipids of seeds are neutral fats
and oils
• Stored in oil body which is single membranous
structure
• Aleurone layer is rich in oil bodies
• Essential fatty acids
Phytin
• Insoluble mixed K, Mg and Ca salt of myo-
inositol hexaphosphoric acid (phytic acid)
• A minor reserve (0.5-2% of seed dry weight)
• Important source of phosphate and mineral
elements
• Phytin located in protein bodies of aleurone
layer in cereal grain in endosperm and
cotyledons of dicots seeds
