Morphological evolution of embryonic cells of wheat seeds upon low-energy ions

Embryos of wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) seeds were implanted by 14N+ at the energy of 30 keV. The fluence ranged from 5×1014 to 6×1016 cm−2. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical microscopy (OM) were used to study the structural evolution of the irradiated embryonic cells. With the increase of fluence, the cells in the several layers near the surface of the embryos suffered gradually intensified damage. A schematic model was proposed to illustrate the progressive morphological development of the cells during ion irradiation with the increase of fluence. Cell death was observed in the embryos of the seeds cultivated for 12 h or more, which may attribute to the death of the seeds.