Soybean seeds, produced in some areas of Brazil, have presented serious problems of physiological quality. This has been attributed to inadequate fittings of the harvesting system, climatic stress occurrence at maturation and stinkbug lesions, resulting in seed with low germination and vigor. The objective of this study was to evaluate the quality of soybean seeds produced in different areas and to identify the best edaphoclimatic regions for high quality seed production. During the 2001/2002 soybean crop, 364 samples, including different cultivars, were collected directly from the grain reservoir of the combine during harvesting in the States of Parana, Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul and Mato Grosso. The seeds were evaluated based on the following parameters: tetrazolium test (to estimate vigor, viability, field deterioration, mechanical damage and bug attack); germination (%), vigour (TZ 1-3), viability (TZ 1-5), oil, protein and acidity content. The results showed that the high levels of breakage, mechanical damage and tegument rupture which were associated with damage caused by moisture and sting bug, affected the quality of seeds produced in Minas Gerais, Mato Grosso do Sul, North and the Western regions of Parana, when compared with seeds produced in the Southern region of Parana and Mato Grosso. In the states of Mato Grosso and South region of Paraná there are regions with potential climatic for soybean seed production of high physiological quality. There are regions in the states of Minas Gerais, Paraná and Mato Grosso that produce soybean seeds with high protein and oil content and with lower acidity contend.
Glycine max; viability; vigor; mechanical damage
