Abstract
Seeds of mung bean (Vigna radiata (L.) R. Wilczek) are subject to loss of viability due to aging and damage from pulse beetles (or bruchids; Callosobruchus spp.) infestation during storage. We investigated whether seed drying using desiccants and hermetic packaging would prevent or ameliorate these consequences of storage. Sun-dried mung bean seeds at a moisture content of 10% were subjected to further drying for 72 h using five different desiccants: Drying Beads® (a zeolite-based desiccant), silica gel, sodium aluminum silicate, activated alumina, and cow-dung ash (a traditional desiccant). Seeds were subsequently stored in hermetic plastic containers in the presence of these desiccants under ambient conditions along with sun-dried seeds stored in cloth bags or in hermetic containers. In addition, parallel samples of each treatment were inoculated with one pair of bruchid beetles (C. chinensis L.) and stored under the same conditions. The seed drying treatments did not affect initial seed quality (germination percentage and seedling vigor) significantly. After storage for 9 months at ambient temperatures, seeds dried using Drying Beads, silica gel, sodium aluminum silicate and activated alumina had higher germination percentages, seedling vigor indices and soil emergence, and lower electrical conductivity (leakage upon imbibition) and fungal infestation compared to other conditions. In addition, the mung bean seeds inoculated with bruchids and stored with these effective desiccants had less damage, oviposition, and insect respiratory activity in the hermetic containers and maintained higher seed germination and seedling vigor after six months of storage compared to other treatments and controls. The results demonstrate the superior ability of desiccants to quickly and safely dry seeds prior to and during storage and the benefits of such drying and hermetic storage conditions for preventing seed deterioration and insect damage during storage.
Highlights
Extent and rate of seed drying by different desiccants
We tested a number of desiccants for their ability to dry seeds quickly and to low m.c., including Drying Beads, silica gel, aluminum silicate, activated alumina, and cow-dung ash
All desiccants significantly reduced seed m.c. or water activity compared to the control seeds, for which m.c. remained constant in the sealed container (Fig. 1A and B)
Summary
Producing and maintaining high quality seeds for planting is an essential component of mung bean cropping systems. Seed quality is influenced by edaphic, environmental, biotic and management factors during seed production and by the conditions and duration of storage (Bewley et al, 2013). Most of the seed quality losses occur during harvesting and post-harvest handling, including threshing, processing, transportation and storage. Maintain ing the quality and integrity of the seeds during storage is critical for subsequent crop establishment and production. The high relative hu midity (r.h.) and temperatures encountered in tropical climates often result in rapid seed deterioration and loss of viability of seeds stored under ambient as compared to controlled conditions (Ellis, 1988; Nagel and Borner, 2010)
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