SEM Studies of Seed and Seed Coat Structures in Cultivars of Lycopersicon esculentum Mill

Abstract

ABSTRACT SEM studies of the seeds and seed surface of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) show differences in the shape and the nature of surface orientation. ‘Hairs,’ as thickened longitudinal bands, are split and occur with the simultaneous disappearance of the external cellular lumen floor. The morphological characters of the ‘hairs’ and the ‘pores’ can be used as cultivar markers. Moreover, these two characters appeared to have a close relationship.