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Crop yields are frequently affected by the vigor of seeds. Although germination tests and vigor tests are performed on sampled seeds to ensure the quality of seeds, selection of crops is based on the appearance or physical properties of roots and shoots of seedlings. Monitoring of the biological activities of seed by biospeckle Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) was proposed for the selection of seeds. Biospeckle OCT used speckle contrast, which is defined by the ratio of standard deviation to mean value, of the temporal fluctuation of OCT intensities to indicate the biological activities of seeds. Seeds of pea were germinated for the experiment. As a comparison of the level of biological activities, some seeds were boiled to terminate the biological activities. Multiple OCT scans at the same positions on the seeds were obtained for the analysis of biospeckle. The speckle contrast was calculated for each pixel of OCT intensities at each measurement. Increased speckle contrast was observed in the seeds even before the radicle emerged. Low speckle contrast was observed in the boiled seeds. As a conclusion, the speckle contrast of OCT intensities indicated biological activities of seeds in the process of germination. It has the potential to indicate if a seed is dead or alive in an early stage of germination for the purpose of seed selection.Crop yields are frequently affected by the vigor of seeds. Although germination tests and vigor tests are performed on sampled seeds to ensure the quality of seeds, selection of crops is based on the appearance or physical properties of roots and shoots of seedlings. Monitoring of the biological activities of seed by biospeckle Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) was proposed for the selection of seeds. Biospeckle OCT used speckle contrast, which is defined by the ratio of standard deviation to mean value, of the temporal fluctuation of OCT intensities to indicate the biological activities of seeds. Seeds of pea were germinated for the experiment. As a comparison of the level of biological activities, some seeds were boiled to terminate the biological activities. Multiple OCT scans at the same positions on the seeds were obtained for the analysis of biospeckle. The speckle contrast was calculated for each pixel of OCT intensities at each measurement. Increased speckle contrast was observed in the seeds even before the radicle emerged. Low speckle contrast was observed in the boiled seeds. As a conclusion, the speckle contrast of OCT intensities indicated biological activities of seeds in the process of germination. It has the potential to indicate if a seed is dead or alive in an early stage of germination for the purpose of seed selection.
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