The tetrazolium test for viability evaluation of coffee bean seed

Abstract

The physiological quality of coffee (Coffea arabica L.) bean seed is rapidly lost, and the minimal duration of the germination test is around thirty days which implies that the information of viability provided by this test can’t be confident in relation to the seed lot analised. From this point of view the marketing process encompasses a series of difficulties related to a short period avaible from harvest to seeding. In order to get a quick system of evaluation to supply information related to viability, the tetrazolium test was studied for coffee bean seed, looking for equivalent results to germination test and the practiceness in performing it. The results provided by the tetrazolium test are quite confident, and the technique developed through this research can be utilized for viability evaluation of coffee bean seed.