The conceptual direction of anti-stress protection of grain seeds

The article presents the results of many years of experimental research and theoretical substantiation, the purpose of which was to develop an anti-stress concept for the protection of seeds and plants at the early stages of the development of grain crops. The need to form this conceptual direction and its practical implementation is dictated by the fact that for many decades and up to the present, the problem of mechanical damage to seeds has persisted in the seed production of grain crops. In the seed material of grain crops, the proportion of injured seeds ranges from 1/3 to 2/3, but this indicator is not standardized by GOST. The problem of protecting seeds from injury has not yet found an effective solution in engineering and design developments. Anti-stress protection studies were performed on spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) of Agate, Daria, Lyubava and barley (Hordeum distichon L.) varieties Vladimir, Yaromir, Reliable. The seeds met the requirements of GOST R 52325-2005, and the injury rate by year, type, and variety ranged from 31 to 57%. The seed batches were differentiated into two categories according to their physiological state: 1) physiologically high-quality; 2) physiologically low-quality, depending on the level of stress and stress tolerance. Post-harvest storage included 2 options: traditional – outdoor storage and stress-protective – container storage. It was found that container storage of physiologically high-quality seeds contributed to an increase in laboratory germination by 2.7% and physiologically low-quality by 5.1%, respectively, in barley by 1.3 and 3.6%. Container storage of physiologically high-quality seeds ensured the formation of maximum field germination in spring wheat and barley on average over the years of research – 87.2 and 85.7%, while when storing these seeds on the floor, this indicator was 79.3 and 82.1%, or 7.9 and 3.6% lower.