Qualidade de sementes de gergelim produzidas em diferentes níveis salinos.

Abstract

Sesame is a crop considered a good alternative for small and medium farmers in the Northeast, serving as a source of income and food. However, under the conditions of the northeastern semi-arid region, the scarcity of good quality water used in irrigation may reflect a reduction in the quality of the final product. The objective was to evaluate the physiological quality of sesame seeds produced under different saline levels. The work was developed at the Laboratory of Analysis of Seeds and Seedlings (LABASEM) of the Centro de Ciências e Tecnologia Agroalimentar, Universidade federal de Campina Grande, Campus Pombal, PB. The seeds were produced in the experimental area of the Centro de Tecnologia e Recursos Naturais, Campina Grande - PB, where they were collected in plastic bags and identified and taken to LABASEM. The experiment was carried out in a completely randomized design according to a 5x5 factorial arrangement for five cultivars: BRS Seda, BRS G2, BRS G3, BRS G4 and BRS Anahi and five saline levels: 0,6; 1,2; 1,8; 2,4 and 3.0 dS m-1. For the physical characterization of the seeds, the purity of the lots and the weight of one thousand seeds were determined. In order to characterize the physiological quality, germination, first germination count, germination speed index, radicle length, electrical conductivity, emergence, emergence speed index and seedling dry mass were evaluated. The sesame seeds of the other cultivars studied had their physical quality compromised as a function of salinity. The cultivars BRS Silk, BRS G2 and BRS G3 of sesame, cultivated under different saline levels, presented seeds with better physiological qualities, demonstrating greater resistance to such stress conditions. The cultivars BRS Seda and BRS G2 tolerate salt levels up to 2,4 dS m-1, while to cultivate BRS G3 up to 1,8 dS m-1. Already BRS G4 and BRS Anahi cultivars have the physiological quality of their seeds compromised by the increase of salinity during their production.