USE OF DRY HEAT (100°C) TO STIMULATE SEEDLING GROWTH OF THREE CORN (ZEA MAYS L.) CULTIVARS L. UNDER LAB CONDITIONS
Keywords:
seed quality, dry heat, pre-germinative treatment, germination improvementAbstract
This research was carried out in order to determine if the use of dry heat (100°C) enhances seed germination and seedling growth of three corn (Zea mays L.) cultivars, under lab conditions. The experiment was conducted at the Seed Lab of the Tropical Agriculture Graduate School (Laboratorio de Semillas del Postgrado de Agricultura Tropical) in Juanico, Maturín, Venezuela. A 3x5 factorial experiment in randomized complete block design with four replications was used; one factor was formed for five periods of placement in oven at 100°C (respectively, during 0, 90, 180, 270 and 360 seconds); the other factor was constituted by the three corn cultivars (Cargill 633, Himeca 2003 y Criollo). Variance and regression analyses were carried out. The level of probability used was 5%. The placement of the corn seeds in the dry oven for the periods of 90 to 360 seconds did not cause a decrease in the percentages of seed germination or seedling traits. On the contrary, as the period length increased, seedlings’ height and number of leaves per seedling also increased in a lineal proportion.
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References
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