The rapid and uniform establishment of crop plants in the field underpins food security through uniform mechanical crop harvesting. In order to achieve this, seeds with greater vigor should be used. Vigor is a component of physiological quality related to seed resilience. Despite this importance, there is little knowledge of the association between events at the molecular level and seed vigor. In this study, we investigated the relationship between gene expression during germination and seed vigor in soybean. The expression level of twenty genes related to growth at the beginning of the germination process was correlated with vigor. In this paper, vigor was evaluated by different tests. Then we reported the identification of the genes Expansin-like A1, Xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase 22, 65-kDa microtubule-associated protein, Xyloglucan endotransglucosylase/hydrolase 2, N-glycosylase/DNA lyase OGG1 and Cellulose synthase A catalytic subunit 2, which are expressed during germination, that correlated with several vigor tests commonly used in routine analysis of soybean seed quality. The identification of these transcripts provides tools to study vigor in soybean seeds at the molecular level.

Zinc (Zn) is crucial for both plant metabolism and human nutrition, with its deficiency being a global health concern. Strategies to increase its availability in food, such as agronomic biofortification, have gained prominence. This study evaluated the impact of foliar spraying of Zn [at full bloom stage: 0 (control) and 600 g ha⁻¹, as ZnSO₄⋅7H₂O] on the nutritional quality of cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L. Walp.) grains. Field experiments involving 20 cowpea genotypes were carried out over two seasons in a Typic Quartzipsamment under a no-tillage system. The photosynthetic responses of cowpea plants and the concentrations of Zn, amino acids, sucrose, total sugars, and storage proteins (glutelin, albumin, prolamin, and globulin) in grains were analyzed. All genotypes showed enrichment of Zn in grains in response to ZnSO₄⋅7H₂O application compared to untreated plants. Foliar spraying of ZnSO₄⋅7H₂O during initial grain filling was ideal for increasing Zn concentration in grains and improving plant physiological processes. Additionally, Zn fertilization led to higher concentrations of storage and total amino acids and proteins in the grains, supporting the rational application of Zn in cowpea production to improve the nutritional quality of grains and increase plant productivity.

A momentary increase in cytoplasmic Ca²⁺ generates an oscillation responsible for the activation of proteins, such as calmodulin and kinases, which interact with reactive oxygen species (ROS) for the transmission of a stress signal. This study investigated the influence of variations in calcium concentrations on plant defense signaling and photosynthetic acclimatization after mechanical damage. Solanum lycopersicum Micro-Tom was grown with 0, 2 and 4 mM Ca²⁺, with and without mechanical damage. The expression of stress genes was evaluated, along with levels of antioxidant enzymes, hydrogen peroxide, lipid peroxidation, histochemistry, photosynthesis and dry mass of organs. The ROS production generated by mechanical damage was further enhanced by calcium-free conditions due to the inactivation of the oxygen evolution complex, contributing to an increase in reactive species. The results indicated that ROS affected mechanical damage signaling because calcium-free plants exhibited high levels of H₂O₂ and enhanced expression of kinase and RBOH1 genes, necessary conditions for an efficient response to stress. We conclude that the plants without calcium supply recognized mechanical damage but did not survive. The highest expression of the RBOH1 gene and the accumulation of H₂O₂ in these plants signaled cell death. Plants grown in the presence of calcium showed higher expression of SlCaM2 and control of H₂O₂ concentration, thus overcoming the stress caused by mechanical damage, with photosynthetic acclimatization and without damage to dry mass production.

Seed analysis is a cornerstone in advancing agriculture, with vigor tests playing a critical role in evaluating the physiological quality of seeds. However, monitoring seed vigor over time poses a significant challenge for the seed industry, as traditional methods are time-consuming and heavily reliant on subjective human judgment. Concerning these limitations, optical-based techniques have emerged as promising alternatives. Among them, the biological laser speckle phenomenon, rooted in optical interferometry, has proven effective in sensitively detecting and monitoring activity levels in living tissues. Known as the biospeckle laser (BSL) technique, this approach offers reliable results in assessing seed vigor. The BSL technique stands out due to its simplicity, rapid analysis, objectivity, and potential for automation, making it a valuable tool for seed analysis. This paper explores the state-of-the-art application of the BSL technique for evaluating seed vigor, highlighting successful approaches, identifying current challenges, and outlining areas for future research. It delves into the experimental setup for seed illumination and discusses the associated image processing methods. Furthermore, the paper examines the numerical and graphical outcomes, underscoring the BSL technique’s ability to carry out seed analysis by addressing the limitations of traditional methods and enhancing efficiency in the agricultural sector.

O teor de água das sementes afeta a velocidade de umedecimento e intensidade da deterioração das sementes submetidas ao teste de envelhecimento acelerado, interferindo nos resultados obtidos.

Chlorophyll retention reduces the quality of soybean grain and seeds, but little is known about the relationship between this anomaly and the seed–seedling transition or classical genetic breeding. Taking this into account, we provide a new perspective about how greenish seeds are associated with genetic material. For that, we used seed–seedling transition measurements of nine commercial cultivars cultivated by different seed farmers. Our findings demonstrated that: (i) The anomaly of greening in soybean seeds seems to be more expressed as a function of thermal variation than rainfall; (ii) There are commercial cultivars with distinct sensitivity to the greening phenotype, indicating potential for classical breeding for the species; (iii) The seed–seedling transition is significantly modified by the presence of greenish seeds, and the diagnosis of their presence can be anticipated by the analysis of embryo protrusion.