Review : Seed Treatments Using Matriconditioning to Improve Vegetable Seed Quality

Abstract

Sowing seed of high quality is necessary for commercial crop production. Poor quality seeds will result in low field emergence and in seedlings that are less tolerant to abiotic stress, more sensitive to plant diseases, and will reduce the quality and yield of crops produced. With the use of good seeds, one gets better results with less effort and expense. High seed quality is characterized by high analytical purity. The seeds must be free of seeds of other species and varieties, weed seeds and inert matters. High vigor and germination capacity are the other characteristics of high seed quality. Another important attribute is free from seedborne disease. Vegetable farmers experience losses due to pathogen problem during plant production affected by use of infected seeds. Seed pathogens are often the primary agents responsible for low seed quality and poor stand establishment. Seed is an effective means of disease dissemination. One infected seed can infect many plants in a seedbed before they are transplanted to the field. A few infected plants in the field can provide the source of inoculum to spread the disease to other plants (AVRDC, 1990). The presence of seedborne pathogens in the seeds will either prevent the germination, or may result in disease epidemics due to transmission of the diseasecausing pathogen from seed to the plant. This will have a negative impact on the quality and yield of crops produced. Therefore, it is important to use healthy seeds from the beginning. An effort to develop various seed treatments to overcome seedborne pathogens may provide an opportunity to optimize seed quality, and improve plant stand eventually. This article is written based on the author’s research with her students studied on seed science and technology as their thesis or dissertation, particularly with emphasis on vegetable seed quality improvement. VARIOUS SEED TREATMENTS TO IMPROVE SEED QUALITY AND HEALTH, PLANT STAND AND YIELD