No abstract

The use of healthy and vigorous seeds is necessary to ensure adequate plant stands, therefore, vigor tests are used to measure the physiological potential of seeds alongside with the germination test. The objective of this study was to evaluate different procedures for the estimation of the physiological potential of eggplant seeds through the accelerated aging test. Seed lots were tested for moisture content, germination, first count of germination, seedling emergence and speed of emergence index. Then, seeds were subjected to the conventional accelerated aging test, using an unsaturated NaCl solution or a NaCl saturated solution, for 24, 48 and 72 hours at 41 °C, estimating the moisture content after each period of aging. The treatments were allocated in a completely randomized design, with four treatments (seed lots) and four replicates. The use of the saturated solution of NaCl decreases the absorption of water and the rate of deterioration of eggplant seeds during the accelerated aging test, providing more uniform results. The accelerated aging test allows eggplant seed lots from cv. Napoli to be ranked at different levels of vigor and, among the procedures tested, the combinations 41 °C/48 hours and 41 °C/72 hours allowed the proper assessment of the physiological potential of seeds of this cultivar.

The aim of this study was to analyze soybean seed physiological quality after being subjected to various mixtures of pesticides via industrial seed treatment. The experiment was performed at the seed laboratory of the company BioGrow, located at São Paulo-SP, using soybean seeds cultivar NS 6700 IPRO which were subjected to 11 different treatments. Seed treatment was carried out using a treater Momesso, model L5-K, calibrated to apply a spray volume of 0.5 L 100 kg-1 of seeds in which the volume of each treatment was adjusted using distilled water. After treatment, seeds were spread over plastic strays for drying for a period of 24 hours under environmental conditions. Once dry, seeds were packed in paper bags and stored for 0 (control), 45, 90, 135 and 180 days, under uncontrolled conditions of temperature and relative humidity, when seed physiological quality was evaluated using the following tests: germination, accelerated aging, seedling emergence, speed of emergence index and speed of emergence. Soybean industrial seed treatment before storage for up to 180 days is practicable using the mixtures of pesticides tested for storing seeds under environmental conditions. All treatments tested contribute to the maintenance of seed quality throughout storage.

The use of high quality seeds is of utmost importance and is intimately related to seed vigor. The objective of this study was to stablish a novel methodology for evaluating the vigor of pearl millet seeds. The experiment was performed at the Federal University of Pelotas, using 5 seed lots of pearl millet cv. BRS1501. The research was carried out in two stages: first, seed lots were characterized (physiological quality tests); second, the initial emergence and development of pearl millet seedlings was evaluated, testing four different substrates and five sowing depths in the emergence test. The experimental set up consisted of a completely randomized design with four replicates. Means were compared by the Scott-Knott test at the 5% probability level. The substrates sand and carbonized rice husk, at 1.0 cm depth, satisfactorily stratified seed lots. These methodologies correlated with the speed of emergency index and seedling emergency. Thus, the study identified an innovative method for testing vigor in pearl millet seeds.

The success of seedling production for ornamental or any other crops depends on several factors, including the use of highquality seeds and the choice of suitable substrates. The aim of this work was to evaluate the use of different organic residues as substrates and sowing depths on the emergence and initial development of pansy seedlings. Two lots of pansy seeds were used. Seed lot quality was evaluated for water content determination, 1000-seeds weight, germination, first count of germination, accelerated aging, seedling emergence in sand. Post emergence was evaluated by the emergence speed index, shoot length, shoot dry matter and number of leaves. The experiment was performed under completely randomized design, with four replicates. Data were submitted to analysis of variance through the F-test and the means, compared to each other by the Tukey test, at 5% probability. The most indicated sowing depths for the development of pansy seedlings were 1.5 and 2 cm while the substrate which presented the best results was the Beifort® S10.