Measurement of the leakage of electrolytes after exposure to defined stress is a well-established, rapid and simple test for the quality and viability of seeds. The influence of the temperature of ion leakage, the preliminary imbibition of seed and the temperature of the seed in storage prior to soaking was examined in the experiments described. The amount of leaking ions rapidly increased with the drop in the temperature of the soaking medium, while the pre-soak storage temperature had no significant influence on the leaking of the ions. The results obtained can be explained assuming that the membranes are the primary targets of temperature treatment. A correlation between absorbance and the electroconductivity measurements was found. As concluded from the comparison of these measurements, protein components are not the only constituent of the leakage solution.