Effect of Relative Humidity and Temperature on Shelf Life of Sorghum, Lentil and Niger Seeds

摘要

Seeds of three crops viz. lentil, sorghum and niger were compared for their storability at different relative humidities (RH) and temperatures. Two varieties per crop were selected i.e. lentil (L-4076 and L-4578), sorghum (CSV-15 and CSV-216R.) and niger (GA-10 and JNC-6) for this study. The humidity levels selected were 95, 75, 50, 33 and 5.5% which were maintained using saturated salt solutions of KNO_3, NaCl, Ca(NO_3)_2, MgCl_2 and ZnCl_2 respectively at ambient, 10 and 35℃ temperatures. Total duration of the experiment was 90 days for storage at all RH except the highest (95%) in which the duration was reduced to 20 days. Monitoring for seed germination, vigour and electrical conductivity was carried out at one-month interval in all the seed lots except those stored at highest RH at three different temperatures. In the later, the seeds were monitored at 10 days interval for the above-mentioned parameters. Results revealed that increased rate of deterioration occurred irrespective of type of seeds or cultivars at high RH and temperature. Germination and vigour index declined significantly when seeds were stored at very high (95%) to high (75%) RH and 35℃ temperature while the electrical conductivity recorded a steep increase at these conditions implying their usefulness as indices for seed quality loss.