Accelerated aging of corn seeds: seed water content, temperature and air relative humidity variations due to the chamber type

Abstract

This work was carried out in order to evaluate the effect of the initial water content of seeds, and the variations of temperature and air relative humidity in different types of chambers, during seed aging, on water content and germination of corn seeds. The water content for four corn seed lots was adjusted to 8, 0 and 2%, and then aged for 72 hours at 45 °C, using two chambers: water jacketed and BOD Incubator types. During the aging period, the temperature and air relative humidity in the chambers were monitored using copper-constantan thermocouples. Both seed water content and germination after seed aging were influenced by the type of equipment. The results show that the two types of equipment display technical conditions to be used for the accelerated aging test; however, under present Brazilian conditions, the BOD Incubator would be more adequate due to its lower cost and easier maintenance.Additional keywords: Zea mays; aging chamber; vigor.