Pre-soaking with gibberellin in sweet corn seed lots with different levels of vigor

Abstract

The poor longevity and performance of sweet corn seeds justify the adoption of practices that enhance their quality, such as pre-soaking. Thus, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of pre-soaking with gibberellin on the physiological potential of two sweet corn seed lots with contrasting vigor levels under ideal and water-deficit conditions. Initially, the seed lots were characterized for germination and physiological potential through first count, germination, accelerated aging, cold test, normal seedling length, normal seedling dry mass, field emergence, emergence speed index, and tetrazolium test. Subsequently, the seeds were pre-soaked with water and 0.4 and 0.8 g L−1 gibberellic acid, in addition to the control (without pre-soaking), randomly in a 2×4 factorial scheme with four replications. Then, the moisture content, first count, germination, field emergence, and emergence speed index of the seeds were evaluated under conditions of simulated water deficiency. The data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance and comparison of means, using Tukey’s test and Student’s t-test, for comparisons between treatments and lots, respectively. Pre-soaking favored germination speed and percentage in sweet corn seeds, particularly under water-deficit conditions. Pre-soaking the most vigorous lot with water and the least vigorous lot with 0.4 g L−1 gibberellic acid favored the physiological performance.