A note on the quantitative determination of carbohydrate in exudate from single cotton seeds and its significance

A method is described for studying carbohydrate exudation from single seeds. The advantages are that the apparatus for collecting exudates is simple, repeated samples may be obtained without removing or damaging the seeds, and exudation from viable seeds can be determined without including nonviable ones. Different seed lots can be compared on a viable seed basis, and in problems on damping-off diseases, this makes any correlations with susceptibility to preemergence fungal infection more valid. Various factors affecting seed exudation can be readily investigated.