Wheat seed quality assessment after thiamethoxam treatment: integrating optical techniques with standard methods

Abstract

Insecticide treatment of seeds protects against early field pests. Therefore, studies on the physiological and biochemical responses of crops exposed to insecticides are required. Standard (non-optical) tests are used to evaluate the physiological quality of seeds. However, some tests may need to be more sensitive to observe possible differences between the control group and the groups of interest. Optical techniques such as ultra- weak photon emission and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy have been discovered to aid standard tests. The effects of different doses of Thiamethoxam were evaluated on wheat seeds from the cultivar FPS Certero. Samples were divided into five groups: control and treated with 75, 150, 225, and 300 mL of Thiamethoxam for each 100 kg of seeds. The ultra-weak photon emission results showed that it was possible to classify the treatment doses through the intensity of photon emissions. The Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy analyses can be used for biological analysis but are unrelated to Thiamethoxam seed treatment. Considering the findings, optical techniques can be used as an additional tool for assessing the physiological quality of seeds.