Physical, physiological and seed health qualities of maize landrace seeds produced on northern Minas Gerais, Brazil/Qualidade fisica, fisiologica e sanitaria de sementes de milho crioulo produzidas no norte de Minas Gerais

• Published in: Ciência rural 2010-10, Vol.40 (10), p.2060
• Main Authors: Catao, Hugo Cesar Rodrigues Moreira, Costa, Flaviane Malaquias, Valadares, Samuel Vasconcelos, Dourado, Emuriela da Rocha, Brandao, Delacyr da Silva, Jr, de Lima Pereira Sales, Nilza
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Subjects: Corn; Physiological aspects; Plastic containers; Seeds
• ISSN: 0103-8478

The objective of this research was to evaluate the physical, physiological and sanitary quality of corn seeds of 17 maize varieties (landraces) before and after storage in PET bottles. The seeds were submitted to the following tests: physical purity, retention on sieves, weight of 1000 seeds, germination, seed moisture content, emergence in flowerbed, infested seed exam and seed health (deep-freezing method). Germination and emergence velocity index were determined. Maize landraces seeds of different varieties presented a great percentage of physical purity and germination, which were over the minimum standards values required for commercialization of corn seeds (98 and 85%, respectively), even after storage. Seed moisture content remained below 13% before and after storage, standing out the potential of Nothern Minas Gerais for production and conservation of high-quality seeds. Three varieties presented infestation higher than the maximum values accepted for corn seeds commercialization (3%), indicating the need of better pests control during storage. Samples of three varieties have not reached satisfy standard values of retention on the same sieve (94%), indicating the need of better standardization on size classification of some seed lots. Key words: Zea mays, seeds conservation, traditional varieties, storage. Os objetivos deste trabalho foram avaliar a qualidade fisica, fisiologica e sanitaria de sementes de 17 variedades de milho crioulo antes e apos armazenagem em garrafas PET e comparar os resultados aos padroes ja estabelecidos para comercializacao de cultivares comerciais de milho. Foram realizados os testes de pureza fisica, retencao de peneiras, massa de 1000 sementes, grau de umidade, germinacao, emergencia em canteiro, indices de velocidade de germinacao e emergencia das sementes, alem de exame de sementes infestadas. Pelos resultados obtidos, e possivel concluir que as sementes de milho crioulo das diferentes variedades apresentam alta porcentagem de pureza fisica e germinacao mesmo apos o armazenamento, com valores acima dos padroes minimos exigidos para comercializacao de sementes de milho (98 e 85%, respectivamente). O grau de umidade das sementes das diferentes variedades de milho crioulo antes e apos o armazenamento permaneceu abaixo de 13%, destacando-se a aptidao da regiao norte de Minas Gerais para a producao e conservacao de sementes de qualidade. Tres variedades apresentaram porcentagem de infestacao superior ao padrao maximo recom