Investigation of soybean sprout rot and the elimination of improper seeds for quality control on soybean seedlots

Abstract

Soybean sprouts have been a considered a nutrient-rich vegetable for hundreds of years. Toevaluate the seedlot quality of soybean sprouts grown, and to evaluate a method for reducingthe presence of improper seeds in soybean seedlots, microbes associated with soybean sprout rotwere isolated from samples collected. Morphological characteristics and gas chromatographyprofiles of the cultured fungal and bacterial strains were identified. Eight types of improperseeds were identified: purple stain(Ps), black rot(Br), seed coat black spot(Cb), wrinkledseed(Ws), brown hilum(Bh), seed coat fracture(Cf), unripe seed(Us), and brown seed coat(Bc). The improper seeds were also dipped into 15%, 20%, and 25% NaCl solutions, as well as asaturated solution of NaCl, for 1min. As the NaCl concentration increased, the number offloating improper seeds increased as well. The highest floating rates were observed for the Cfseeds.