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.