Análise de imagens na avaliação da qualidade fisiológica de sementes Image analysis to evaluate the physiological quality of seed

The objective of this work was to evaluate the efficiency of the use of image analysis technique to identify the internal morphology of seeds and its relationship to mechanical damage, moisture damage by drying damage and insect damage and its relationship with the physiological quality. The analysis of X-ray images, to assess the quality of seeds, is a method of precision, enabling examine in detail, the damaged areas, their location and extent. Being a non-destructive method, analyzed seeds can be submitted to physiological tests and thus it is possible to establish the relationship between cause and effect. In the evaluation of the physiological potential of several species of seeds, and the methods routinely used to force analysis, computer analysis of seedlings and also has great potential, because this system includes minimizing human error, improving reliability of data for comparison, and the possibility of storing the images for subsequent analysis. Thus, the development of digital systems for the evaluation of the physiological potential of different species can be promising alternative in the search for accurate methods and relatively quick to evaluate the physiological potential of seeds.