EDN 86 figure 3

Figure 3: Temperature (in oF) and relative humidity (%) over time in a sealed jar containing dried rice and buried in soil. The relative humidity was much lower than that of outside air. The temperature remained stable throughout the day and was considerably lower than the daytime high temperature. A rule of thumb is that if the temperature in oF and the relative humidity in % add up to 100, conditions are good for the storage of seeds. Using this rule of thumb, imagine a scenario where seeds were stored at 90ºF and at 80% RH. Storing seeds at 80ºF instead (but still at 80%RH) would double their shelf life. Storing seeds at 90ºF and 72%RH would also double their shelf life. Storing seeds at 80ºF and 72%RH would