Accelerated aging and electrical conductivity for evaluating physiological quality of sorghum seeds (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench)

Abstract

The accelerated aging test and the electrical conductivity test have frequently been used for evaluating seed physiological quality of different species. However, their methodologies for sorghum seeds are not clearly defined. The present study aimed at evaluating some combinations of temperature and period of exposition to stress for the accelerated aging test, and of temperature and imbibition period, for the electrical conductivity test. To conduct the study, were used five different batches of forage sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench cv. BRS 610) and were evaluated for germination, first count germination, speed of germination, weight of fresh and dry weight, shoot length, cold test and seedling emergence on sand seedbed. The accelerated aging test was carried out at temperatures of 41 and 43°C for periods of 72, 96 and 120 hours and the electrical conductivity test at temperatures of 20 and 25°C for periods of 6, 18 and 24 hours. The experimental design was completely randomized design and means were compared by using the Tukey test.