Effects of the origin on the characteristics of the seeds of three soybean cultivars

Abstract

Physiological and biochemical characteristics as well as the agronomic performance of the seeds of the short, medium, and long cycled 'Paraná', 'Bossier' and 'Santa Rosa' soybean (Glycine max (L.) Merrill) cultivars were compared considering two seed producing regions in Brazil: the state of Rio Grande do Sul and the state of São Paulo. The agronomic performance of the seeds, as measured by yield, was about the same for both origins, probably due to favorable environmental conditions. Seed physiological quality though, as evaluated through germination and vigor tests, showed the seeds from Rio Grande do Sul to be significantly superior to those from São Paulo. A supposition that the superiority shown by the Rio Grande do Sul seeds would be due to their being richer in soluble carbohydrates and N-aminoacids and poorer in lipids than the São Paulo seeds is discussed. The lower content of lipids would be the main reason for the encountered lesser degree of fungal contamination of the Rio Grande do Sul seeds.