Chickpea seed storage in different packagings, environments and periods1

Abstract

Storage is a fundamental practice in the control of the physiological quality of seeds, as it is a method that can preserve their viability and vigor for a longer period. Thus, the objective of the present study was to evaluate the storage of chickpea seeds in different packagings, environments, and periods. The completely randomized design was used in a 2 × 2 × 4 factorial scheme, corresponding to two types of packaging (hermetic and Kraft® paper), two storage environments (cold chamber environment and conventional environment), and four storage periods (0, 45, 90, and 135 days), with four replicates. The seeds were placed in Kraft® paper bags and hermetic packagings and stored for 135 days in the environments: cold chamber (14.5 °C and relative air humidity of 65%) and conventional environment (no temperature and relative air humidity control). Every 45 days, seeds were subjected to the following evaluations: determination of water content, germination, first germination count and accelerated aging. In general, the maintenance of the physiological quality of chickpea seeds was verified in Kraft® paper packagings and the cold chamber environment. Storage of chickpea seeds in hermetic packaging must be carried out with seeds with 7% moisture, regardless of the storage environment. The packagings maintained the physiological quality of chickpea seeds for up to 45 days, regardless of the storage environment.