Evaluation of physiological potential of tomato seeds by the hydric stress test

Abstract

This work had the objective to test the efficiency of the hydric stress test on the evaluation of the physiological quality of tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) seeds. Five seed lots of the cultivar IPA-5 were analysed by the following tests: germination, first count, cold without soil test, accelerated aging, electrical conductivity, field emergence, and seedling length under hydric stress at 0, -0.2, -0.4 and -0.6 MPa potentials. The trials were carried out at the Seed Lab and experimental fields of CPATSA, Petrolina, PE, Brazil, in a completely randomized design with four replications. The results showed that the germination test conducted at the -0.4 MPa level can be used to estimate the performance of tomato seeds under unfavourable water stress conditions.