Time to Radicle Protrusion Does Not Correlate with Early Seedling Growth in Individual Seeds of Impatiens and Petunia
Impatiens (Impatiens wallerana Hooker F.) and petunia (Petunia ·hybrida Hort. Vilm.) seeds were imaged usingaflat-bedscanner interfacedwithapersonal computerprogrammed to captureimages every hour. Imageswere used to measure time to radicle protrusion and seedling growth. Time to radicle protrusion was calculated as time to 50% germination or as actual germination for each seed. Seedling growth after germination was calculated from linear regression of growth over time. Radicle protrusion and seedling growth were evaluated as indicators of seed vigor. Both were good indicators of seed vigor in impatiens seed lots. These measurements of vigor were highly correlated for each impatiens seed lot and for pooled seed lots. However, there was little or no correlation between time to radicle protrusion and seedling growth on an individual seed basis. The relationship between germination speed and seedling growth rate observed in impatiens was confirmed in two petunia seed lots. This study supports the use of time to radicle emergence and seedling growth as good indicators of seed vigor. However, it appears that different aspects of seed vigor may be measured by these indicators because there was no relationship between time to radicle protrusion and seedling growth rate on an individual seed basis.
Density Separation of Imbibed and Primed Vegetable Seeds

The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between seed density and seed quality of vegetable seeds hydrated by imbibing or priming procedures. Species studied were: lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.), onion (Allium cepa L.), cabbage (Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.), and carrot (Daucus carota L.). Seeds of each crop were soaked in either aerated distilled water at 25C (imbibed seeds) or polyethylene glycol (PEG) 8000 at 15C (primed seeds). After soaking, seeds were separated into density classes with a float-sink procedure using aqueous solutions of Maltrin 600 (Maltrin 500 for lettuce) with 0.02 g·cm−3 density increments. Significant (P > 0.01) positive relationships were determined between seed density classes and germination percentages for lettuce, tomato, and onion seeds, whether separated after imbibition (R2 = 0.93, 0.83, and 0.66, respectively) or after priming (R2 = 0.95, 0.94, and 0.91, respectively). High-density classes of hydrated lettuce, tomato, and onion seeds in either the imbibed or primed treatment usually exhibited faster and more uniform rates of radicle emergence and, after 6 days, had longer hypocotyls (cotyledon for onions) than low-density classes. The significant quality differences exhibited among the density classes of lettuce, tomato, and onion seeds after priming will enable seedlots of these species to be upgraded by discarding the low-density, poor-quality seeds.
The potential vorticity flux through the Yucatan Channel and the Loop Current in the Gulf of Mexico
Two‐year‐long time series of current and density structure measurements across the Yucatan Channel's main section allow the calculation of the time‐dependent potential vorticity flux between the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, which is characterized by alternating periods of positive (cyclonic) and negative (anti‐cyclonic) vorticity influx. Periods of negative cumulative vorticity influx are related to the Loop Current extending into the Gulf of Mexico, whereas periods of positive cumulative vorticity influx relate to a Loop Current retraction, sometimes coincident with the shedding of an anti‐cyclonic eddy.