Effect of Packaging Materials and Seed Treatment Chemicals on Seed Quality of Sunnhemp during Storage

摘要

The experiment consisted of three packaging materials viz., cloth bag, polyethylene bag (700 gauge) and HDPE bag and four seed treatment chemicals viz., control, Thiram and Bamstin @1 g/kgof seed, Malathion at 2.5 g/kg of seed and Bioneem @3 ml /kg ofseed were used. Seeds stored in polyethylene bag (700 gauge) showed lowest moisture content as compared to cloth bag and HDPE bag at the end the study. The moisture content in cloth bag was 9.41, 9.57 and 9.88 %, in polyethylene bag (700 gauge) (8.06, 8.06 and 8.06%) and HDPE bag (9.26, 9.42 and 9.78%) at the end of twelve months of storage for the seeds produced during kharif, rabi 2009 and summer, 2010 respectively. The seed treated with Malathion @2.5 g/kg and packed in polyethylene bag (700 gauge)recorded highest germination (86.6, 86.3 and 84.6 %), seedling length (16.65,16.16 and 16.52 cm), total dehydrogenase activity recorded (1.19,1.16 and 1.14 OD value),seed health percent (6.44, 6.94 and 7.08 %) and field emergence per cent (82.17, 82.33 and 80.50 %) and lowest electrical conductivity (5.11,5.40 and 5.29 dSm~(-1)) compared to cloth and HDPE bag at the end of twelve months storage in kharif, rabi 2009 and summer 2010, respectively. Thus, it can be concluded that sunnhemp seeds stored in polyethylene bag and treated with Malathion @ 2.5 g/kg of seed found better and also with moisture of around 9 per cent in cloth bag could be stored under ambient conditions per a period of more than twelve months to maintain minimum seed certification standard (75 %) of germination.