†National Research Centre for Sorghum, Rajendranagar, Hyderabad, 500030, Andhra Pradesh, India.
$Department of Plant Pathology, 351 Bessey Hall, College of Agriculture. Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, 50011-1020, USA.
@International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics, ICRISAT, Patancheru, 502324, Andhra Pradesh, India.
Division of Seed Science and Technology, Acharya NG Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad, 500030, Andhra Pradesh, India.
In shelter protection (SP) the seeds at harvest are protected from grain mold and had better germinability. However, the mist and the high humidity from flowering to physiological maturity (MF-PM) and from physiological maturity to post physiological maturity (MPM-PPM) enabled infection of seed with grain mold causing loss in seed germinability and seedling growth affecting potential performance of seeds in the field.. The grain hardness was lowest in the treatment MPM-PPM (5.02 kg/cm2) followed by NC (6.53 kg/cm2), MF-PM (6.65 kg/cm2) and SP (6.91 kg/cm2). The water absorption was lowest in treatment MPM-PPM (0.17%) followed by NC (0.21%), MF-PM (0.219) and SP (0.23%). The seed germination in cold test was lowest in the treatment MPM-PPM (40.7%). The electrical conductivity was lowest in the treatment MPM-PM (143.81 ?mhos/cm) followed by NC (148.95 ?mhos/cm), MF-PM (150.30) and SP (152.67 ?mhos/cm). The mold score was lowest in SP (2.6) followed by MF-PM (4.7); NC (6.1) MPM-PPM (6.1). The floury endosperm percentage was highest in the treatment MPM-PPM(72%). The corneous endosperm percentage was lowest in the treatments MF-PM and MPM-PPM (26%) followed by NC (27%), SP (28%). The dehydrogenase activity was lowest in the treatment MPM-PPM (0.37) followed by NC (0.42), MF-PM (0.425) and SP (0.88). Mold severity, irrespective of genotypes, was maximum in MPM-PPM followed by NC, MF-PM and mold severity was lowest in SP hence the seed quality was highest in SP.
Sorghum, grain mold, seed quality
