Pattern and physiological quality of seeds in the selection of lima bean accessions

Abstract

The landrace varieties used in breeding programs need to have well-determined and recognized phenotypic characteristics. The guarantees in terms of productivity in the next cycles go through an evaluation of the quality of the seeds. The objective of this study was to evaluate whether lima bean accessions differ in tegumental pattern and physiological seed quality and the relationship between the traits and to select the superior lima bean genotype for seed quality. Seeds of ten accessions (criole varieties) of lima bean (Phaseolus lunatus) produced in the seed multiplication field were used. The seeds were kept in plastic bottles until evaluation. A completely randomized design was used with 10 treatments (accessions) and 15 replicates (seeds) for the pattern analyses and four replicates of 50 seeds each for the germination and vigor tests. The pattern, germination and vigor of the seed lots of the breeding program depend on the accession (p < 0.05). The accessions presented seeds from small to large, with a shape varying from flat to rounded. The accessions CPCE 020, UFPI 1266 and UFPI 1294 had a satisfactory percentage of twinning, above 70%. However, the UFPI 1204 accession also had the greatest vigor. A positive correlation was observed between seed size and germination percentage, which should be considered in indirect selection within breeding programs.