Seed Viability of Three Bread Wheat Cultivars under Different Storage Conditions

Abstract

Environmental temperature and relative humidity are the most important factors influencing seed viability and longevity during storage. Most species of seed crops could be stored safely, avoiding the bad conditions by control of temperature and relative humidity in different locations all over the world, especially in tropical parts. This study was conducted at Seed Technology Research Department during 2024 season to investigate the effect of storage package (H.D.P and jute), irrigation treatment: (normal and drought of wheat),  storage periods ( 3 and 6 months), and three wheat cultivars (Sakha95, Giza 171and Misr1) on germination percentage, seedling vigor parameters (shoot length, root length and seedling dry weight), seedling vigor index, seed index and electrical conductivity of stored seeds. All statistical analyses were performed using the analysis of variance technique by the “MSTAT-C” computer software package. The obtained results revealed that increasing the storage period had a negative effect on seed viability (by increasing electrical conductivity and decreasing germination percent and seedling vigour parameters). Also, the results showed that there was a significant difference in all studied traits due to irrigation treatment. Due to the lower moisture value inside high-density polyethylene compared with the jute package, high-density polyethylene gave the best values for all studied traits. On the other hand, results recorded highly significant differences among the tested cultivars for all studied characters. Giza 171 gave the highest values for germination percentage, root length, and seed index, while Misr1 gave the lowest values for the same traits. On the other hand, Misr1 gave the highest values of shoot length, seedling dry weight and seedling vigour index. The results indicated that increasing storage time after harvest to 6 months caused a negative effect on seed viability. Therefore, this study recommends using high-density polyethylene packages to reduce this negative effect.