Soybean seed quality during storage: A review

Soybean seed quality is affected during pre and post harvest periods. Soybean seed reaches its maximum potential for germination and vigour at physiological maturity. The germination potential (viability) is very short lived in soybean as compared to other oilseed crops and is often reduced prior to planting time. This loss of germination is much more acute under tropical conditions like India. These environmental conditions make very difficult to maintain its viability during storage. Such deteriorated seed is one of the basic reasons for low productivity in soybean. Further, the soybean seed is highly susceptible to mechanical injury and damage occurring during post harvest handling, which affect the viability and vigour of soybean seed during storage. Besides these, large number of pathogens are also associated with soybean seed which lead to the reduction in germination and storability of the seed. However, the seed quality and viability during storage depend upon the initial quality of seed and the manner in which it is stored. The rapid seed deterioration of soybean is thought to be due to lipid peroxidation, subsequently resulting in loss of seed viability. The research on these aspects of soybean seed deterioration during storage has been reviewed in this article.