Thermal stress tests in seeds of muskmelon

Abstract

The vigor tests are generally conducted to detect differences in seed lots owing to limitations of the germination test, therefore the research aimed to verify the efficiency of methods of controlled deterioration and accelerated aging, based on tolerance to thermal stress, with potential to evaluate vigor of muskmelon seeds. The study was conducted in three consecutive experiments, using seeds of two hybrids (Imperial and Gaucho), each with four lots by evaluating germination, first germination count, accelerated aging and controlled deterioration. The results showed that the controlled deterioration test (20% water content, 24 h at 45 °C) and the traditional and saturated salt accelerated aging (41 °C for 72 h) tests are efficient to evaluate differences in the vigor of muskmelon seed lots.