Longevity of organic pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) seeds

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine seed longevity in organic and conventionally produced pepper seeds from four different pepper cultivars. Seeds were stored at 20± 2 oC with 7.5±0.5 seed moisture over 48 months. Longevity of seeds were evaluated with Ki (initial seed quality), P50 (half-viability period), σ (standard deviation of distribution of seed deaths in time), and regression coefficient values. The highest longevity was observed in ‘Corbaci’ and ‘Yaglik’ cultivars, while ‘Surmeli’ and ‘K. Dolma’ were found to have shorter longevity. P50 was 43.4 and 40.2 months for ‘Corbacı’ and 34.9 and 39.7 months for ‘Yaglık’ organic and conventional cultivars, respectively, whereas it was about 21.4 and 23.7 months in ‘K. Dolma’ and ‘Surmeli’ cultivars. Similarly, the highest σ and regression coefficient values were observed for ‘Corbaci’ and the lowest for ‘Surmeli’ cultivars. Organic and conventional pepper seed longevity was not different in the same species. Regression coefficient values were 0.043 in organic and 0.046 in conventional seeds for ‘Corbaci’. Very close values were found between the two production systems for the other cultivars too. Results indicate that organic seeds had similar longevity to conventional ones. The main differences originated from the cultivars, not from the production system.