Condutividade elétrica e lixiviação de potássio para avaliação do vigor de sementes de hortaliças: feijão-de-vagem e quiabo

Abstract

This work was conducted to investigate the possibilities of providing rapid indications on the physiological quality of vegetable seeds through the electrical conductivity and potassium leakage test. The efficiency of the information of these tests were related to other indicators of seed vigour. Four seed lots of snap bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and okra (Hibiscus esculentus L.) were submitted to germination, first count, accelerated aging, emergence in sand and seed moisture tests. In addition, studies on electrical conductivity and potassium leaching were conducted with four replications of 50 and 25 pure seeds respectively, placed into 75ml distilled water. The electrical conductivity was determined using a conductivity meter after 4, 8 12, 16, 20 and 24 hours, while the amount of leached potassium was evaluated in a flame photometer after a 60, 90, and 120 min. imbibition. It was concluded that the electrical conductivity test was efficient for vigour evaluation of the seeds. The seed lot with high vigour was identified with four hours imbibition period, while efficient discrimination among seed lots was obtained with 24 hours. With regards to the potassium leakage test, additional studies are necessary to provide a methodology adjustment for vigour evaluation of these seeds.