Abstract
ABSTRACT The use of desiccants may result in seeds with high physiological and sanitary quality due to the shorter period of exposure to field adverse conditions before the maturity stage for harvest. This study evaluated the effect of chemical desiccants and harvest times on the physiological and sanitary quality of soybean seeds. The experiment consisted of a randomized block design, arranged in a factorial scheme (4 × 3) + 1, with four replications. The first factor corresponded to four desiccation (grammoxone-2 L ha-1, glufosinate-2 L ha-1, reglone-1.5 L ha-1, and saflufenacil-40 g ha-1) applied at the R7.1 phenological stage (physiological maturity and 65% moisture with three harvest times (0, 7, and 14 days after the R8 phenological stage) and additional treatment (control, application of water only, and harvest at the R8 stage), with four replications. The use of the grammoxone desiccant and seeds harvested at seven days after the R8 stage resulted in soybean seeds of the highest physiological quality, as observed for the variables germination, moisture damage, mechanical damage, and incidences of Colletotrichum sp., Phomopsis sp., Penicillium sp. Fusarium sp., Cercospora kikuchii, and Alternaria sp. Seeds harvested at the R8 + 14 stage had the greatest losses in seed quality. The use of ammonium glufosinate and saflufenacil as desiccants is not recommended due to the reduction in the physiological quality of soybean seeds.
Highlights
Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] has high economic relevance, and producing seeds with high physiological and sanitary quality is essential for the formation of vigorous crops
In the soybean production process, harvesting should be carried out as carefully as possible as relates to the physiological maturity stage, which is affected by the high water content in the seeds (TERASAWA et al, 2009)
The use of desiccant herbicides may accelerate the process of water loss in plants and in seeds (TOLEDO; CAVARIANI; FRANÇA NETO, 2012)
Summary
Soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merrill] has high economic relevance, and producing seeds with high physiological and sanitary quality is essential for the formation of vigorous crops. In the soybean production process, harvesting should be carried out as carefully as possible as relates to the physiological maturity stage, which is affected by the high water content in the seeds (TERASAWA et al, 2009). Chemical desiccation is an alternative to minimize seed quality losses in the field and anticipate the harvest (BOTELHO et al, 2016). The use of desiccant herbicides may accelerate the process of water loss in plants and in seeds (TOLEDO; CAVARIANI; FRANÇA NETO, 2012). Daltro et al (2010) anticipated the soybean harvest by about two days while using the herbicides grammoxone, reglone, grammoxone + reglone, and grammoxone + diuron. The authors verified that seed lots desiccated with grammoxone had better performance in some quality tests
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