Effect of accelerated ageing on rice( Oryza Sativa L.) seed quality

• Main Author: Neo Shea Dee
• Format: Academic Exercise
• Language: English
• Published: Universiti Malaysia Sabah 2018
• Subjects: S Agriculture (General)
• Online Access: https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/24462/2/Effect%20of%20accelerated%20ageing%20on%20rice.pdf; https://eprints.ums.edu.my/id/eprint/24462/

A study was conducted to investigate the effect of accelerated ageing on aerobic rice (Oryza sativa L.) seed quality. The experiment was carried out at the Faculty of Sustainable Agriculture, Universiti Malaysia Sabah. The study aimed to determine the most reliable method in assessing seed deterioration. Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with four replicates for each treatment was used. Aerobic rice seeds were artificially aged by exposing them to temperatures of 42 °C and 45 °C for six different durations: 12, 24, 36, 48, 72 and 96 hours. Parameters evaluated in this study were viability, germination percentage, abnormal seedlings, dead seeds, seedling vigour index, length of root & shoot on the seventh and fourteenth days, fresh & dry weight of seedlings and seed moisture content. Initial seed viability and germination percentages were 67.50 % and 67.50 % respectively. These values increased to 93.50% and 86.00 % when exposed to 42 °C for 12 hours (P=0.004 and P=0.052), suggesting some breaking of dormancy had occurred during the early period of artificial ageing. Seed vigour index indicated the robustness of seeds. Non-aged seeds ( control) showed the best performance, with high values for seed vigour index (1057.7), shoot (4.42 cm) and root length (11.17 cm). Seed quality were greatly reduced beyond 48 hours of exposure to high temperatures and relative humidity conditions. The study concluded that accelerated ageing (by exposing seeds to different temperatures for a variable period of time) adversely affected rice seed vigour.