Effect of fertilization on the physiological maturation of sesame seeds1

Erivan Isídio Ferreira,Aldifran Rafael De Macedo,Edimar Rodrigues Soares,Márcio Dias Pereira

doi:10.1590/1983-40632016v4745715

Erivan Isídio Ferreira, Aldifran Rafael De Macedo + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1590/1983-40632016v4745715

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Abstract

ABSTRACT Fertilization and harvest time may influence the formation and maturation processes, as well as the physiological quality of seeds. This study aimed at evaluating the effect of fertilization on the physiological maturation of sesame seeds. The following variables were evaluated: fruit color, dry mass and water content of fruits and seeds, germination, first germination count, germination speed, emergence and emergence speed. No significant fertilization effect was observed on fruit maturation for water content or dry mass. However, there was significance for these variables in the seeds. The harvest time had a significant effect on water content and dry mass of fruits and seeds. For the variables that evaluated the seed viability and vigor, both the fertilization and harvest time influenced the physiological maturation. The physiological maturity of the sesame seeds, whose plants were grown with and without fertilization, was reached between 52 and 54 days after anthesis, when the fruits were classified as yellow-greenish 7.5 Y 8/6 and yellow to yellow-red 10.R 4/6.

Highlights

Determining the harvest point is essential for crops such as sesame, because the longer the plant stays in the field after maturation, the greater the loss of seeds during harvest
Seeds were stored in PET bottles, which were kept sealed in a refrigerator for 12 months, until the sowing time (July 2016), being sown in shallow grooves (1 cm deep), with thinning at 20 days after emergence, leaving 10 plants per meter
At 35 days after anthesis (DAA), they presented a greenish to green-yellow 7.5 GY 7/6 color

Summary

Introduction

Determining the harvest point is essential for crops such as sesame, because the longer the plant stays in the field after maturation, the greater the loss of seeds during harvest. Seed harvest should be carried out as close as possible to the time of physiological maturity (Arriel et al 2007). Plants must be cut before the end of their cycle, while fruits are still closed and the plant presents greater fruit maturation uniformity. When this does not occur, there may be a reduction in the final grain yield, losses by degranulation and deterioration of seeds in the field (Arriel et al 2007). Establishing the ideal point for harvesting sesame seeds is of extreme importance to preserve the production quality, as well as for the formation and maturation processes of its fruits and seeds, ensuring quality for the propagation material

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