Accelerated Aging in Tomato Seeds

Abstract

The tomato plant (Lycopersicum esculentum L.) is a perennial, shrubby-like vegetable with high reproductive ability, which behaves like a typical annual crop. The aim of this work was to select suitable tests to assess the quality of different lots of tomato seeds. Six batches of tomato seeds were assessed for parameter values: moisture content, germination, first count, accelerated aging (standard: 40 mL of water; saline solution: 11 g NaCl/100mL of water and saturated saline solution: 40 g NaCl/100mL water) and seedling emergence in soil. Accelerated aging through the use of saturated salt solution for 48 h or 72 h at 41°C resulted in an alternative and efficient way to evaluate the physiological quality of tomato seeds. The standard accelerated aging test was less efficient and exhibited higher moisture variation.