Seed size and its effects on the physiological quality of produced seeds

The physiological quality of soybean seeds is a determining factor for the establishment of the crop in the field. The present study aimed to evaluate the physiological quality of soybean seeds, produced from plants originating from seeds of different sieve sizes, in two harvests. The cultivars BS 2606 SOYTECH, NS 6700 IPRO, NA 5909 RR, BS IRGA 1642 IPRO and LANÇA 58i60 IPRO were used, sown in the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 harvests. The experimental design used was in randomized blocks, with treatments consisting of seeds from plants cultivated with three sizes of sieve. Germination tests, first germination count, shoot and root length, total dry mass of seedlings, seedling emergence, accelerated aging and electrical conductivity were conducted. The data obtained were subjected to analysis of variance, and the means compared using the Tukey test at 5% probability. The classification of soybean seeds into different sizes does not interfere with the germination of the seeds produced. Greater seed vigor by the seedling emergence test for cultivar NA 5909 RR, and accelerated aging for cultivar NS 6700 IPRO, were obtained from those produced from plants originating from seeds classified on a 6.5 mm sieve. For the other cultivars, the classification of seeds by size does not influence the vigor of the seeds produced.