MASS AND DENSITY AS SEPARATION CRITERIA OF PEDUNCULATE OAK (QUERCUS ROBUR L.) SEEDS

摘要

The growth of seedlings in the juvenile phase and the distribution of biomassin oak seedlings (Quercus robur L.) are significantly affected by seedweight. For the purposes of separation, what is important is the density ofseeds, used in practice as the separative feature. The aim of the study is todetermine the properties of oak acorns, such as mass, volume and density, dependingon their vitality. A hypothesis was made that the degree of development of theembryo and the mummification of acorns affect the above physical characteristics.In order to measure the mass and determine the density, an analytical balancewas used with a set applied to determine the density of solids; vitality wasdetermined by slicing, performing a macroscopic examination of embryonic development,cotyledon tissue condition, the root ovary and the internal damage caused byfungi and insects. It was shown that the density of the acorns, and to a limitedextent also their mass, depend on vitality; therefore they may be regarded asdistributive characteristics. There is, however, no possibility to separate onlythe healthy seeds; healthy seeds together with half-spoiled seeds can be separatedfrom the remaining, spoiled ones.