Physiological and sanitary quality of soybean seeds under different chemical treatments during storage

Gerusa M Conceição,Liliane M Mertz-Henning,Fabricio F De Andrade,Manoela Beche,Fernando A Henning,Alessandro D Lúcio

doi:10.1590/1807-1929/agriambi.v20n11p1020-1024

Abstract

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of the chemical treatment with fungicide, insecticide, micronutrient and polymer on physiological and sanitary quality of soybean seeds during storage. The treatments were arranged in a 3 x 5 x 5 factorial scheme (cultivars x seeds treatment x storage period), in completely randomized design with four replicates. Three cultivars were used: NA 4823RG, BMX TurboRR and Fundacep 62RR. The treatments were: T1: no chemical treatment, T2: fungicide, insecticide and micronutrient; T3: fungicide, insecticide, micronutrient and polymer, T4: fungicide; T5: insecticide. After the chemical treatment, the seeds were stored under environmental conditions from May to December 2012, and seed quality was evaluated at 0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 months of storage. Seeds water content and physiological quality were determined through tests of germination, accelerated aging, seedling length, seedling dry weight and sanity. The treatment with fungicides, insecticides, micronutrients and polymer did not affect seed quality over eight months of storage and promoted the control fungi associated with the seeds.

Highlights

Soybean seed quality can be affected by innumerous biotic and abiotic factors, including storage (Carvalho et al, 2014), which, under uncontrolled conditions, exposes the seeds to oscillations of temperature and relative humidity, besides the attack of pest insects and fungi, contributing to the reduction of quality (Ludwig et al, 2011)
Initial water content was determined in the seeds, which was on average 12.4 and, they were subjected to the following treatments: 1) Control – without treatment; 2) Fungicide + insecticide + micronutrients; 3) Fungicide + insecticide + micronutrients + polymer; 4) Fungicide + micronutrient; and 5) Insecticide + micronutrient
Only for germination percentage, there was significant effect of the interaction between seed treatments and storage periods, while for the other variables there was a significant effect of the storage periods (Table 1)

Summary

Introduction

Soybean seed quality can be affected by innumerous biotic and abiotic factors, including storage (Carvalho et al, 2014), which, under uncontrolled conditions, exposes the seeds to oscillations of temperature and relative humidity, besides the attack of pest insects and fungi, contributing to the reduction of quality (Ludwig et al, 2011). The chemical treatment of the seeds with fungicides, insecticides and the coating with polymers, for being efficient in the control of pathogens and insects (Pereira et al, 2010; Conceição et al, 2014), can contribute to maintaining their quality during the storage period, besides helping to control diseases in the initial period of crop establishment, favoring the emergence and development of seedlings (Balardin et al, 2011). Aiming to protect the seeds during storage, some companies have adopted the technique of industrial seed treatment (IST). In this process, the seeds are treated immediately after processing and, later, bagged and stored until the moment of sowing. Dan et al (2013) observed reduction in the emergence of seedlings derived from soybean seeds treated with the insecticide thiamethoxam after three months of storage

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Results