Abstract
Abstract: The objective of this study was to determine adequate conditions of water volume, seed quantity and immersion period to perform the electrical conductivity test, and to analyze the parameters of the accelerated aging test and its correlation with the the physiological potential of amaranth seeds. Five lots of amaranth seeds (Amaranthus cruentus), cultivar BRS Alegria, were used. The initial evaluation of the quality of these lots comprehended the following tests: water content, germination, first germination count, accelerated aging (traditional method, and modified versions, using unsaturated and saturated saline solution for the periods of 24, 48 and 72 h), electrical conductivity in different periods (2, 4, 6, 8 and 24 h), different quantities of water (25, 50 and 75 mL), different seed quantities (100 and 150), and field emergence. It could be concluded that the accelerated aging test at 41 °C, for 72 h, using unsaturated NaCl solution was efficient in the classification of amaranth seed lots in levels of vigor. The electrical conductivity test performed for 8 hours with 25 mL of water and 100 seeds was efficient in the classification of amaranth seeds as to their physiological potential.
Highlights
Pseudocereals, whose seeds are rich in proteins and carbohydrates, have been source of food over time (Casini and La Rocca, 2014), especially for low-income population, like indigenous peoples.Among the species that belong to the group of pseudocereals, quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.), buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench.), and amaranth (Amaranthus sp.) are some of the most notable ones, and the latter has been praised due to its nutritional composition
The electrical conductivity test performed for 8 hours with 25 mL of water and 100 seeds was efficient in the classification of amaranth seeds as to their physiological potential
Since cultivation is expanding and there is a scarcity of methodology for evaluating the physiological potential of amaranth seeds, improving and adjusting the methods of determination of vigor are of fundamental importance
Summary
Pseudocereals, whose seeds are rich in proteins and carbohydrates, have been source of food over time (Casini and La Rocca, 2014), especially for low-income population, like indigenous peoples.Among the species that belong to the group of pseudocereals, quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Willd.), buckwheat (Fagopyrum esculentum Moench.), and amaranth (Amaranthus sp.) are some of the most notable ones, and the latter has been praised due to its nutritional composition. Since cultivation is expanding and there is a scarcity of methodology for evaluating the physiological potential of amaranth seeds, improving and adjusting the methods of determination of vigor are of fundamental importance. The exploitation of a culture that is still not very common in a particular production system requires numerous evaluations in order to gather as much information as necessary for its cultivation. The germination test, despite providing subsidies to measure the conditions of a seed lot, becomes peculiar to measure the actual capacity of a seed, and to express its maximum potential. More concise tests are required in order to submit seeds to adverse conditions, and vigor tests is the most adequate for this purpose, and to provide complementary information to the germination test (Lopes and Franke, 2010)
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