Abstract
Bio-activators such as thiamethoxam have been used to increase the productive potential of plants, by means of metabolic and plant morphology modifications. Nevertheless, very little is known regarding the effectiveness of this insecticide when incorporated into lower quality level soybean seeds, particularly during storage. The objective of this work was to assess the influence of thiamethoxam on the physiological potential of soybean seeds with different initial vigor levels during four storage periods. Three vigor levels of cultivar Anta—low (35%), medium (70%) and high (85%) vigor—of soybean seeds were utilized in this experiment. The experimental design was completely randomized in a 3 × 2 × 4 factorial scheme—3 levels of vigor (low, medium and high); 2 seed treatments (with and without thiamethoxam) and 4 storage periods (0, 30, 60 and 90 days). The analyzed variables were: germination, first germination count, accelerated aging test, seedling length and emergence speed index. Thiamethoxam-treated soybean seeds benefit the physiological potential of both medium and high vigor seeds during storage up to 30 days. Whereas, the use of thiamethoxam was shown to be ineffective in improving the physiological quality of initial low vigor seeds.
Highlights
Soybean crops comprise both increased productive potential and adaptability in different regions of Brazil due to recent technological advances in the productive segment
Taking into account the study accomplished by [7], thiamethoxam, used for seed treatment accelerated soybean germination, whose effect was pronounced when twice-fold dose of that recommended for the crop was utilized (4 mL·kg−1 of seed)
At 90-day storage, germination percentages were higher to 80% in both seed treatments assessed, being within the trading-accepted standards of soybean seeds in Brazil [23]
Summary
Soybean crops comprise both increased productive potential and adaptability in different regions of Brazil due to recent technological advances in the productive segment. Among the modern farming techniques, the incorporation of products such as fungicides and insecticides to seeds in order to protect the plants and increase the productive potential is becoming an increasingly widespread practice in most technified agriculture in advanced countries [1]. Insecticides are assessed for their efficiency on pest control; some products can cause effects yet unknown, modifying the metabolism and morphology of the plant [2]. A number of studies have shown the efficiency of thiamethoxam as a bio-activator, promoting increments on germination, emergence, seedling length (roots and aerial parts) and dry phytomass. Thiamethoxam proved to be efficient as a bio-activator, essentially for soybean seeds [4]
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