Soaking—drying treatment of stored tomato seeds greatly reduced their deterioration under accelerated and natural ageing conditions. Hydration by moisture equilibration at 100% RH for 24 hours followed by drying-back was also very effective. Treatment of harvest-fresh seed was ineffective. The beneficial effects of the soaking—drying treatments were reflected in the productivity of the crop. Treatment with dilute solutions of sodium chloride (10−3 M) or sodium phosphate (dibasic, 10−4 M) proved better than water for field performance and productivity.