Improved Seed Storage Technique in Groundnut (Arachis hypogaea L.) cv. G7 in Coastal Environment

Background: Non-availability of good quality seeds at the right time is a major problem faced by groundnut growers. Groundnut seeds lose their viability quickly due to several biotic and abiotic factors during storage. Seed moisture content, storage temperature and relative humidity are three major factors affecting seed storability in coastal environments. Generally, groundnut seeds are stored as pods in gunny bags. Those seeds lose their viability rapidly due to the moisture-pervious nature of the container. Vacuum storage techniques may help in protecting the seed quality from the external environment in coastal areas. Methods: With this background, the experiment was conducted with two major objectives, to prolong the seed storability of groundnut and to reduce storage volume by using the kernel storage method in the place of pod storage. Each 20 kilograms of freshly harvested pods and 10 kilograms of kernels of Groundnut cv. G7 were treated with double spectrum fungicide (Carboxin 37.5% + Thiram 37.5%) and stored in three different containers viz., Gunny bag, High-Density Poly Ethylene (HDPE) bag and Super grain bag comprising a total of 12 treatments and those were tested at bimonthly intervals to assess the quality. Result: The results shown that all the seed quality traits were differed significantly with duration of storage, storage container, method of storage and seed treatment. Irrespective of containers, untreated kernels lose their viability within a month of storage. Further, treated and untreated pods and kernels stored in gunny bags failed to fulfill the minimum germination standards (70%) after three months of storage. However, the kernels treated with fungicide and stored in HDPE or Super grain bags fulfilled minimum germination standards even after 11 months of storage. Hence, groundnut kernels treated with fungicide may be safely stored in Super grain bags or HDPE bags with reduced volume of storage as compared to pod storage. Accordingly, kernel storage in groundnut is possible if kernels pre-treated with double spectrum fungicide (Carboxin 37.5% + Thiram 37.5%) and stored in super grain bags or HDPE bags. Thus, the results have a high degree of practical utility for groundnut farmers and seed growers.