Cold test on the vigor determination of Carthamus tinctorius L. seeds

Abstract

In evaluating the quality of seed lots, vigor tests are complementary to the germination test, identifying differences in their degree of deterioration. However, for safflower seeds (Carthamus tinctorius L.) there is little information regarding these tests. Thus, the objective was to adapt the cold test methodology to evaluate the vigor of safflower seeds. For that, twelve lots were initially characterized by moisture content, mass of one thousand seeds, germination and seedling emergence in the field. After characterization the samples were conditioned in transparent plastic boxes on paper moistened with water and kept at 10 °C for the periods of 0, 3, 5 and 7 days. After the conditioning periods the samples were transferred to a germination chamber at 25 ºC, with evaluation of normal seedlings on the 3rd day. The obtained data was subjected to variation analysis and when significant, compared by the Scott-Knott method at 5% probability. To verify the efficiency of the methodologies, the principal component analysis was performed. The cold testing at 10 °C for 7 days is recommended for evaluating the physiological quality of safflower seeds.