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.
Highlights
The eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is a vegetable which belongs to the family Solanaceae, as well as tomatoes, paprika, pepper, potatoes and Jilo, the specie is originated in India and was introduced to Brazil in the 16th century by the Portuguese (Weber et al, 2010)
Napoli used in the experiment was similar (Table 1), above the minimum required for the eggplant seed commerce which is of 70% (Brasil, 1986)
The fact that no difference was observed on the germination values between seed lots is suitable for the use of vigor tests, since the main feature of the latter is to show differences in seed quality which are not detected by the germination test (Marcos Filho, 1999)
Summary
The eggplant (Solanum melongena L.) is a vegetable which belongs to the family Solanaceae, as well as tomatoes, paprika, pepper, potatoes and Jilo, the specie is originated in India and was introduced to Brazil in the 16th century by the Portuguese (Weber et al, 2010). The evaluation of the physiological potential of seeds is an essential component of any quality control program, as it provides information for the detection and problem solving during the production process, as well as on seed performance (Costa et al, 2008). As the official procedure for evaluating the ability seeds to produce normal seedlings under ideal conditions, the germination test is conducted in the laboratory under favorable conditions of substrate, moisture and temperature. As a result, this test usually overestimates the physiological potential of seed lots, creating a need for improved testing techniques regarding seed vigor to provide consistent results in a short time (Pereira et al, 2011). Vigor tests have been used to identify differences in the performance of seed lots, which may occur during storage or after seeding, highlighting lots with greater capacity to yield adequate stands under a wide range of environmental conditions, usually unfavorable (Marcos Filho et al, 2009), providing complementary information to that provided by the germination test
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
