Chemical treatment and size of corn seed on physiological and sanitary quality during storage

Karen Marcelle De Jesus Silva,Thomas Simas Silva,Renato Mendes De Oliveira,Édila Vilela De Resende Von Pinho,Heloísa Oliveira Dos Santos,Renzo Garcia Von Pinho

doi:10.1590/2317-1545v42219569

Abstract

Abstract: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of treatment with insecticides and fungicides on the physiological quality of corn seeds, classified in sizes, in different periods of storage. Seeds of the hybrid BM915 PRO, classified in two sizes (CH20/64 and CH24/64), were treated with a mixture of carbendazim + thiram (Derosal Plus®), pirimiphos methyl (Actellic®), deltamethrin (K-obiol®), and water (standard treatment). In addition to the standard treatment adopted by the company, treatments with clothianidin (Poncho®), thiamethoxam (Cruizer®), and fipronil (Shelter®) were added to the spray mixture. The seeds were stored in a non-climate-controlled environment in multi-ply paper packages. The physiological quality of the seeds was evaluated every ninety days over a period of 270 days by the germination test, cold test, and accelerated aging. Sanitary quality was also evaluated through the Blotter test. The physiological quality of seeds of the hybrid BM915 PRO is maintained up to ninety days of storage, regardless of the chemical treatment used and the size of the seeds. The addition of the insecticide to the standard treatment used in chemical seed treatment does not affect the action of the fungicides on the fungi in the seeds.

Highlights

Seed is one of the main inputs in agriculture, and its quality is one of the primary factors for establishing any crop (Nunes et al, 2009)
The seeds were treated with a spray mixture composed of insecticides and fungicides adopted by the production company, characterized by a mixture of carbendazim + thiram (Derosal Plus®), pirimiphos methyl (Actellic®), deltamethrin (K-obiol®), and water (Table 1)
In spite of loss of quality over the storage period (Figure 1), seeds of the hybrid BM915 PRO maintained germination percentages above the minimum standard established by the Ministry of Agriculture for commercialization (85% germination)

Summary

Introduction

Seed is one of the main inputs in agriculture, and its quality is one of the primary factors for establishing any crop (Nunes et al, 2009). Seed treatment has been used as a tool for protecting seeds in the field and in storage for the purpose of maintaining physiological quality, and it is a valuable method for controlling and/or preventing pest and pathogen attacks. Lack of this initial protection can have a direct impact on yield. Chemical treatment consists of incorporating artificially developed chemical products on the seeds This modality has been increasingly adopted by farmers since it is easy to perform and can be practiced in a controlled environment through the ease of uniformly distributing small amounts of products in growing areas, through reduced need for complementary applications of pesticides on developing crops, and through its low relative cost, which, even so, provides significant increases in final yield. Some factors affect the performance of the seed chemical treatment, such as type of seed, physical and physiological condition of the seed lot to be treated, seed size, product formulation, active ingredient, and application rate of the product (Machado, 2000)

Objectives

Methods

Results