Physiological quality in maize seeds using conventional methods and NIR spectroscopy

Abstract

Maize is one of the most important cereals, and stands out for its wide genetic diversity, adaptation to the most diverse climate conditions, and being, both directly and indirectly, the most basic food source of man. Globally, production is dependent on seed quality. Known methodologies for evaluating seed quality require improvement in developing technologies capable of achieving, in less time, results for the targets under evaluation. The aim of this study, therefore, was to compare conventional vigour testing with the ability of NIR technology to classify the physiological quality of maize seeds, cv. DKB-290-HS. For the experiment, which was conducted in a completely randomised design (CRD), six Batches of 200 seeds were used, with four replications. Conventional methods of evaluating seed vigour were used in the study. For the evaluation using the near-infrared (NIR) method, the seeds were placed with the embryo facing the source of electromagnetic waves. The resulting spectra were analysed by the Pirouette software using the PLS-DA method. The conventional methods for vigour, and the NIR technique both efficiently detected the levels of physiological quality. NIR also revealed the differences between Batches, classifying the physiological quality of maize seeds, cv. DKB-290-HS, into different levels quickly and efficiently.