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Laser biospeckle imaging and mathematical modeling for comprehensive malting barley (Hordeum vulgare subsp. distichum
Dalia M Rodríguez-Jiménez1, Andrés E Dolinko2, Gustavo E Galizzi3
1Universidad de Buenos Aires, Facultad de Agronomía, Cátedra de Física, Instituto de Investigaciones en Biociencias Agrícolas y Ambientales (INBA-CONICET/FAUBA), Av. San Martín 4453, C1417DSE, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Background And Aims:
Laser Biospeckle Activity (LBSA), derived from laser-induced speckle variations in response to dynamic changes in living tissues, is a promising non-invasive technique for evaluating seed germination.
Methods:
Malting barley (Hordeum vulgare subsp. distichum L. cv. Sinfonia) seeds were analysed using five coefficients-Generalised Differences (GD), Fujii, Lasca, Frequent Motion Image (FMI), and Moment of Inertia (MI)-to assess their ability to discriminate between treatments and tissue regions, and to track changes during imbibition. Whole and longitudinally cut seeds from two treatments (control [untreated] and autoclaved [heat-inactivated]) were analysed, focusing on embryo/endosperm activity ratios. LBSA was also evaluated as a function of imbibition time and seed moisture content.
Key Results:
Four coefficients (GD, Fujii, FMI, and MI) successfully differentiated control and autoclaved seeds, as well as embryo and endosperm regions in control seeds, revealing distinct activity patterns. In control seeds, LBSA increased with imbibition time and was well described by polynomial models (quadratic for Fujii and MI; cubic for GD and FMI). GD, Fujii, and FMI required a minimum seed moisture content of 25% to detect activity, while MI was responsive only above 31.5%. In contrast, Lasca was exclusively sensitive to hydration level, fitting a relaxation curve independent of treatment.
Conclusions:
LBSA constitutes a robust, non-destructive methodology for monitoring early germination processes. By combining coefficients, it is possible to infer physiological traits such as embryo specificity, hydration thresholds, and dynamic metabolic reactivation. This positions LBSA not only as a diagnostic tool for seed viability but also as a physiologically informative proxy for studying germination and tissue-level dynamics.
