SEED QUALITY STUDY IN PEPPER (Capsicum annuum Linn.) USING SEEDLING EMERGENCE AND ELECTRO-CONDUCTIVITY AS INDICES

Abstract

An investigation was conducted in the screen house of Crop Production Department, Federal University of Technology, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria to determine the effect of two seed extraction methods (wet ripe and dry fruits) and two drying methods (sun and air) on seed quality of six pepper (Capsicum annuum L.) cultivars. The cultivars used were ‘Rodo-Dan Sokoto’ (RD-DSK), ‘Rodo-Dan-Brini-Gwarin’ (RD-DBG), Tatashe Dan Kano (TS-DKA), Tatashe Dan Kaduna (TS-DKD) Shombo Dan Sokoto (SB-DSK) and Shombo Dan Guru (SB-DGU). The study was a 2 X 2 X 6 factorial experiment subjected to Completely Randomized Design. The seeds of the different treatment combinations were placed in open plastic containers and stored at 80% relative humidity and 35 oC for eight weeks. Seedling emergence test was conducted every-other-week (two-weekly-interval). Seeds of cultivar Shombo-Dan Guru (SB-DGU) generally recorded significantly higher seedling emergence percentage, 1onger seeding and lower electrical conductivity (EC) and greater longevity were recorded in Cultivar ‘Shombo’ than in the other Cultivars. Seeds of cultivar TS-DRA recorded significantly lower values for all parameters except EC compared to all other genotypes. Seeds extracted from wet fruits before drying maintained viability for a longer period than those from dry fruits. Shade-drying resulted in significantly higher germination than sun-drying all through the storage period except in SB-DGU, The study revealed that longevity was better maintained when seeds of different pepper cultivars were extracted from wet fruits and afterwards dried in shade except in TS-DKA in which seeds extracted from shade-dried fruits had significantly greater quality than those of its other treatment combinations. Significant interaction effects of cultivar, extraction and seed drying methods were also recorded. Seed viability, seeding emergence and length declined with age while EC increased with age.