Abstract
Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) seeds were SUbjected to environmental treatments known to shorten seed
viability rapidly. The cultivar response, seed germ inability, seedling vigor, membrane damage and lipid
peroxidation in cucumber seeds were compared. Accelerated aging treatment showed decline in germinability,
loss of vigor, increased leakage and lipid peroxidation products. The results obtained suggest that the changes
with aging are a function of free radical mediated damage to membranes and cultivar response.
Keywords: Cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.), seed germinability, vigor, lipid peroxidation, leakage, aging, relative growth rate (RGR)
