Adequacy of potassium leaching test in <i>Moringa oleifera</i> seeds

Abstract

Methods that allow rapid evaluation of the vigor are of great interest in the quality control seeds used in the companies, since the potassium leaching test has been shown as being an efficient tool in the evaluation of many species such as Moringa oleifera. This species presents high potential in the different byproducts of the plant, being able to be used in agriculture and pharmaceutical industry. The objective of this work was to adapt the methodology of potassium leaching test in moringa seeds. The experiments were carried out in a seed laboratory and in a greenhouse, using four lots of seed, submitted to germination tests, seedling emergence, total length and dry mass of seedlings and the cold test, for the physiological characterization, besides the potassium leaching test. The latter was performed with samples of 25 and 50 seeds, placed in plastic cups containing 70 and 100 mL of distilled water at 25 °C for periods of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 h. The design was in DIC with four replicates per treatment, and the results submitted to ANOVA, when significant by the F test, the means compared by the Tukey test at 5 %. It can be affirmed that in all the evaluations carried out, only one lot stood out in relation to others, because it presented less amount of potassium leachate and greater physiological potential under laboratory and field conditions. The emergency and cold tests and combinations of samples of 50 seeds and volumes 70 mL of distilled water for 1, 5 and 6 hours, 50 seeds in volumes of 100 distilled water per 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 hours of imbibition, was the methodology of the potassium leaching test more adequate to classify lots of seeds of Moringa oleifera due to their physiological qualities.