Accelerated ageing was performed by exposing the seeds to a high temperature of 45 8C and 75% RH in an airtight desiccator. Saturated NaCl solution was used to maintain 75% RH in the desiccators (Jianhua and McDonald, 1996) which were maintained at 45 8C. Aged seeds were collected from the desiccator on alternate days for 2 weeks. Aged seeds were used for germination and biochemical analyses.