A simple autoradiographic technique for studying diffusion of water into seeds

Visual observations on rates and modes of water penetration into black bean seeds and into wheat and sorghum kernels during conditioning were accomplished by an autoradiographic procedure that eliminates a freezing microtome and liquid and stripping film emulsions. Seeds soaked in tritiated H(2)O were hand sectioned before freeze-quenching in liquid N(2) and subsequent block autoradiography on nuclear medicine film.