A seed is the carrier of life,and research on the heat and mass transfer of a seed has already stridden toward the level of microcosm,such as cell protoplasm,cell organism,and molecular membrane.By means of a transmission electron microscope,the authors of this paper observed the microstructure of cotyledon tissue slices of the Chinese cabbage seed with a moisture content of 13% (on dry basis) and that with a moisture content of 4.3% (on dry basis) for drying 2 h at 45 ℃.The compared result was that only wrinkles had been discovered on the cell walls of the seed dried for 2 h,without any significant change for other organelles.Study on the enzyme activity shows that after a germination for 48 h,the relative activity of α amylase of the Chinese cabbage seed dried for 2 h at 45 ℃,decreased by 5.8%,whereas that of the seed dried 2 h at a temperature of 67 ℃ decreased by 30.1%.This work shows that the drying factors have greatly influence on the seed microstructure,enzyme activity,which is directly positive to seed viability.Combined with the analysis of the critical safe drying temperature of the vegetable seed,it can be concluded that enzyme activity is also the function of the drying temperature,the moisture content and the drying time.
