Sanitary and physiological quality of ‘purple’ corn (Zea mays L.) seeds submitted to thermotherapy

ABSTRACT: The use of seeds with good sanitary and physiological potential ensures the establishment of the crop, with a uniform, vigorous and disease-free seedling stand, which will result in good productivity levels. Seen that, the objective was to evaluate the sanitary and physiological quality of purple corn seeds (Zea mays L.) submitted to thermotherapy. They were subjected to heat treatment with immersion in sterile distilled water (SDW) heated at 50, 60 and 70 °C for 1, 2, and 3 minutes. The control (0 min) correspondens only to immersing the seeds in SDW, which were submitted to sanitary and germination tests in a completely randomized experimental design, in a factorial arrangement 3 × 3 + 1 (exposure time × temperature + additional control). Data were subjected to analysis of variance, and the means were compared with the Scott-Knott test up to 5% of probability, with the aid of the statistical program SISVAR®. Immersing Zea mays seeds in hot water at 50, 60 and 70 °C for 1, 2, and 3 minutes is efficient to prevent the increased incidence of Aspergillus sp., Penicillium sp., and Fusarium sp. The heat treatment at 60 °C for 1 and 2 minutes of immersion reduces the incidence of fungal mycoflora without impairing the physiological quality of seeds.

摘要：使用具备优良卫生与生理潜力的种子，可保障作物顺利建植，形成整齐健壮、无病的幼苗群体，进而实现良好的产量表现。有鉴于此，本研究旨在评估经热疗处理的紫玉米（Zea mays L.）种子的卫生与生理品质。供试种子分别经加热至50、60、70℃的灭菌蒸馏水（sterile distilled water, SDW）浸泡1、2、3分钟完成热处理；对照组（0分钟）仅将种子浸入灭菌蒸馏水中。试验采用完全随机试验设计，以3×3+1析因布局（浸泡时长×处理温度+额外对照组）开展卫生检测与发芽试验。借助统计软件SISVAR®对数据进行方差分析，并采用Scott-Knott检验在5%显著性概率水平下进行均值多重比较。结果表明，将玉米（Zea mays L.）种子在50、60、70℃热水中浸泡1、2、3分钟，可有效抑制曲霉属（Aspergillus sp.）、青霉属（Penicillium sp.）以及镰孢菌属（Fusarium sp.）的侵染发生率。其中，60℃下浸泡1、2分钟的热处理方案，可在不损害种子生理品质的前提下，降低真菌菌群的侵染发生率。