Vigor determination of okra seeds by respiratory activity

Abstract

Seed companies increasingly need to obtain reliable results on seed vigor. Therefore, the objective was to verify the efficiency of the respiratory activity measurement, by the CO₂ released, to classify the vigor of okra seed lots. For this, five seed lots of okra cv. "Santa Cruz 47" were used. In order to determine seed physiological quality, the following tests were performed: germination, seedling emergence, emergence speed index, shoot length, total dry matter, potassium leaching, electrical conductivity and respiratory activity. Mean values of germination and vigor were compared by Tukey's test. Respiratory activity was correlated with germination and other vigor tests by the Pearson's correlation. The results indicate that CO₂ measurement is a promising method to identify vigor differences between okra seed lots.