Influência da temperatura durante o período de armazenamento sobre o poder germinativo de algumas sementes

Abstract

In order to study the action of temperature and storage time on the germination power of some crops of food importance for the country, an exploratory trial was conducted in the Laboratory of Plant Physiology of the Faculty of Agronomy, during the period from September 1989 to September 1990. Seeds of groundnut varieties Bebiano Branco and BMP 12, maize varieties Matuba and Manica, sorghum var. Mamonhe, millet var. Babala, rice var. IB-52 and Nhemba beans var. IT-18, all of commercial origin, were stored at 5 °C, ambient, 35 and 45 °C and subjected to germination test at every two-month interval for one year. All the seeds conserved a germination power superior to 80%, considered viable for sowing, throughout the twelve months of storage in the temperatures of 5°C and ambient but presented a reduction of the germination power highly significant in the high temperatures. Nhemba bean and maize were the most sensitive crops at temperatures above ambient while groundnut BMP 12 and sorghum Mamonhe were resistant and viable up to the eighth month at 35 °C.

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