Relative humidity and temperature

• At equilibrium moisture content, there is no net gain or loss in seed moisture content.
• In sealed storage, seed moisture content determines the RH of the environment in the container.
• Seed moisture content fluctuates with the change in RH.
• Temperature increased by 100C results in a 2% decrease in moisture content of seed at a given RH and vice versa.
• The higher the moisture content of seeds, the more they are adversely affected by temperature.
• Low temperature is very effective in maintaining seed quality even if RH might be high.
• Good cold storage for seed should not exceed 60% RH.

Oxygen pressure

• An increase in the pressure of oxygen tends to decrease the period of viability.