Crambe is a promising crop for biodiesel production, mainly due to the high oil content of its seeds. However, there have been no effective methodologies for evaluating the physiological quality of crambe seeds. Seed lots have not been compared, especially by vigor tests, such as the accelerated aging. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of high temperature and exposure periods on the physiological quality and enzymatic activity of crambe seeds during the accelerated aging test. Two lots of crambe seeds of the Brilhante cultivar were analyzed by tests of moisture content, weight of 1,000 seeds, germination, first count, electrical conductivity, enzymatic activity (peroxidase and superoxide dismutase) and seedling length. All tests were carried out before and after the accelerated aging, which evaluated different temperatures (38, 40 and 42ºC) and exposure periods (24, 48 and 72 hours). The experimental design was completely randomized with four replications. Variance analysis and mean comparison through the Tukey and Dunnet tests (p < 0.05) were applied for statistical analysis and means were also submitted to the linear correlation test. It was concluded that the interaction between temperature and exposure period affects the physiological quality and enzymatic activity of crambe seeds. We also conclude that the best conditions of temperature and exposure period for evaluating the physiological quality of crambe seeds through the accelerated aging test depend on genotype.
Crambe abyssinica; germination; vigor; deterioration
