ACS Distance Education UK
Seed storage behaviour refers to the capacity of seeds to survive desiccation (drying). The periods which seed survives (i.e. its longevity) varies quite a lot among species. It also tends to vary among accessions (collections) within a species, because of differences in genotype and provenance. The influence that provenance and genotype have on the longevity of seed also depends on the following:
Species of seeds do not all respond to the environment before or during storage in the same way. Today scientists recognise three main categories of seed storage behaviour: