Accelerated aging of arugula seeds

Abstract

This work aimed to study procedures for conducting the accelerated aging test and evaluating the physiological potential of arugula seeds. Five seed lots of cv. Cultivada and four of cv. Folha Larga were firstly subjected to the following tests for characterization of their physiological qualities: moisture content, germination test, first counting, seedling emergence in the field, emergence speed index, seedling shoot length, seedling shoot dry mass, electrical conductivity and potassium leaching. Subsequently, the same lots were subjected to accelerated aging (38 and 41 ºC; 24, 48 and 72 h; with and without the use of saturated NaCl solution). The experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design with four replications of 50 seeds each. The accelerated aging with saturated NaCl solution, using the combination of 41 ºC for 48 h, and traditional accelerated aging, using the combination of 38 ºC for 48 h, were effective for classifying seed lots of cv. Cultivada into different vigor levels. On the other hand, accelerated aging with saturated NaCl solution using the combination of 41 ºC for 24 or 48 h was suitable for classifying the vigor of cv. Folha Larga seeds.