Estudo comparativo de métodos para a avaliação do vigor de sementes de milheto [Pennisetum typhoides (Burn) Staff et Hulb].

Abstract

This research was developed at the Seed Analysis Laboratory of the Plant Science Department of the Federal University of Ceará, Brazil during the 1995/1996 growing seasons. Considering the high productivity potential of millet [Pennisetum typhoides (Burn) Staff et Hulb] to the Brazilian Northeastern ecosystems in sinergism with the utilization of high quality seeds, the investigation aimed to evaluate the efficiency of different tests in assessing the plant vigour. Seeds from BULK-1BF and WC-C75 cultivars were got from IPA - Agricultural Research Institute of Pernambuco, BraziI. They were submitted to the germination standard tests, immersion in toxic solution and submersion; field emergence velocity; field emergence percentage; precocious aging and seed humidity leveI. The analysis of the data as well as the interpretation of the results revealed that the germination standard test was not by itself adequate to indicate the real high quality seeds. The precocious aging test was considered as one of the most efficients when screening different vigour levels. The precocious aging test has exhibited the lowest values of variability among the replicates then followed by the germination standard test. AlI cultivars have displayed uniformity in regard to humidity contents. Seed humidity levels was not a factor of influence to the other tests. Those field-assayed tests have shown the highest variability among the replicates when matched to the remaining ones. The evaluation of the seed physiologycal quality and its seedling emergence potential, under field conditions, should be based in a set of results from different tests for higher safety of the collected data.