Variability of silver fir (Abies alba Mill.) cones – variability structure of scale surface area

Abstract

Abstract. This study was conducted on a batch of closed silver fir cones from Jawor Forest District and a mixture of scales from the seed extraction facility Grotniki. The scales were divided into three size classes corresponding to the bottom, middle and upper part of the cones and their area was measured with the Multi scan Base v.18.03 software. Based on the sum of the inner and outer surface area of all scales, we then determined the total area of evaporation from the cones. in addition, the area of protruding scales was measured for differently sized scales from different parts of the cones. Previous studies have shown that the average outer surface of a closed cone, calculated as the sum of protruding scales, accounts for 10% of the outer surface of an open cone. Pictures of both scale surfaces with the internal seed bed and the external protrusions were taken using a scanning electron microscope. We noticed significant differences in dimension and shape of the channels and trichomes on the scale surface. On the inner side of the scales, we found a high diversity of trichomes of different lengths, whilst the outer side contained channels. Presumably, these characteristics affect the rate of water loss from the cones during desiccation and separation of the seed. in-depth knowledge on the evaporative surfaces of fir cones and scale structure will be helpful for optimizing the industrial processes of seed extraction.

Functional Principles of Morphological and Anatomical Structures in Pinecones

“…In addition, dorsal (A~D) and ventral (E) surfaces of cone scales showed different surface structures ( Figure 5 ). Various species have different surface structures because silver fir cones showed different structures in comparison to Pinus cones [ 25 ]. The parenchyma in dorsal and ventral surfaces of cone scales are surrounded by fibrous tissue.…”

Physical Properties of Seeds of Eleven Fir Species

“…A mesh sieve appears to be the preferred solution for sorting fir seeds because the resulting fractions do not have to be dewinged before storage (seed wings do not disrupt the separation process), whereas dewinging operations increase the risk of damage to resin ducts and make seeds more susceptible to infection [38]. It should also be noted that the elimination of resin globules, for example during rapid dewinging, leads to a rapid deterioration in seed quality [2,9,46].…”

Physical Properties of Seeds of Eleven Fir Species

“…A mesh sieve appears to be the preferred solution for sorting fir seeds because the resulting fractions do not have to be dewinged before storage (seed wings do not disrupt the separation process), whereas dewinging operations increase the risk of damage to resin ducts and make seeds more susceptible to infection [51]. It should also be noted that the elimination of Peer-reviewed version available at Forests 2019, 10, 142; doi:10.3390/f10020142 resin globules, for example during rapid dewinging, leads to a rapid deterioration in seed quality [2,22,59].…”