Abstract: The seeds of mung bean were irradiated by iron and copper ion beam with energy 50 keV.The effects on cellular morphology of the seeds were observed by a scanning electron microscope, and the irradiating ability of the ions was analyzed by means of a scanning energy dispersive analysis of X-ray.The results showed that after the treatments with copper and iron ion beam irradiation, the cuticle layers of the cell wall in the surface of seed coat were destroyed, and the many holes existed in the cell surface;the cell wall was obviously subsided in the surface of cotyledon and the radicle with seed coat removed and that the ions could penetrate the seed coat and arrive in the embryo.

Key words: Phaseolus radiatus L., Ion irradiation, Fe+, Cu+, Scanning energy microscope