Accelerated Aging for the Evaluation of the Physiological Potential of Eggplant Seeds

The use of healthy and vigorous seeds is necessary to ensure adequate plant stands, therefore, vigor tests are used to measure the physiological potential of seeds alongside with the germination test. The objective of this study was to evaluate different procedures for the estimation of the physiological potential of eggplant seeds through the accelerated aging test. Seed lots were tested for moisture content, germination, first count of germination, seedling emergence and speed of emergence index. Then, seeds were subjected to the conventional accelerated aging test, using an unsaturated NaCl solution or a NaCl saturated solution, for 24, 48 and 72 hours at 41 °C, estimating the moisture content after each period of aging. The treatments were allocated in a completely randomized design, with four treatments (seed lots) and four replicates. The use of the saturated solution of NaCl decreases the absorption of water and the rate of deterioration of eggplant seeds during the accelerated aging test, providing more uniform results. The accelerated aging test allows eggplant seed lots from cv. Napoli to be ranked at different levels of vigor and, among the procedures tested, the combinations 41 °C/48 hours and 41 °C/72 hours allowed the proper assessment of the physiological potential of seeds of this cultivar.