Abstract
Abstract: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of pre-harvest desiccant herbicides on the yield and the physiological and technological quality of cowpea seeds after harvest and after storage. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design with four replications. A split-plot design (6 × 2) was composed of the desiccant herbicides flumioxazin (30 g ai.ha-1), glufosinate ammonium (500 g ai.ha-1), paraquat (400 g ai.ha-1), saflufenacil (70 g ai.ha-1), and carfentrazone (24 g ai.ha-1) and an untreated control, as well as two seed evaluation periods, at harvest and six months after h arvest. Desiccants were applied at the R5 stage. The desiccants affected the yield, classification, color, and physiological quality of seeds of ‘BRS Guariba’. The glufosinate ammonium and paraquat herbicides compromised seed physiological quality. Flumioxazin did not affect seed yield components, color, and physiological quality. Storage at 20 °C for six months affected seed physiological quality.
Highlights
In Brazil, cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) occupied a planted area of 1516 thousand hectares, with production of 789.8 thousand tons of grain in 2018 (CONAB, 2019)
Significant effects were observed for the variables earlier harvest in days (EHD), thousand seed weight (1000SW), seed yield (SY), sieve of 4.5 mm mesh (S4.5) and sieve of 3.5 mm mesh with oblong shape (S3.5 OB) for the herbicides, and significant effects were not found for seeds classified in the sieve of 7.5 mm oval mesh (S7.5) and the sieve of 3.5 mm oval mesh (S3.5 O) and bottom collector (Table 1)
Harvest was ten days earlier compared to the untreated control; the more intense effect of the herbicide led to lower SY and 1000SW (Table 1)
Summary
In Brazil, cowpea (Vigna unguiculata L.) occupied a planted area of 1516 thousand hectares, with production of 789.8 thousand (metric) tons of grain in 2018 (CONAB, 2019). In the state of Goias, average yield of cowpea for the 2019 crop season is estimated to be 1260 kg.ha-1, whereas the average yield for Brazil is 521 kg.ha-1 (CONAB, 2019). Due to development of varieties with traits that favor mechanized harvest, the crop is expanding in the Center-West region of Brazil, production is still mainly concentrated in the Northeast region (CONAB, 2019). High quality seeds assume a fundamental role for production companies. Plants generally remain in the field for some time beyond their physiological maturity, exposed to environmental variations that can compromise their physiological quality (Paiva et al, 2018). One of the significant difficulties during harvest of cowpea seeds is their lack of uniform physiological maturity
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