Assessment of the seeding qualities of Lepidium sativum seeds for phytotesting

Relevance. The aim of the work is to evaluate the sowing qualities of packaged seeds of cress salad varieties for phytotesting. Methods. The studies were carried out at the Siberian Botanical Garden of the National Research Tomsk State University. Objects of the study: seeds of six cress varieties supplied by Russian commercial firms. A total of nine seeds samples of the 2021 harvest were studied. Laboratory experiments to evaluate the sowing qualities of cress seeds after 3 years of storage were laid in 2024. The percentage of germinated seeds and the accounting of morphological features were carried out according to generally accepted methods. Cress seeds Danskiy were used to evaluate the allelopathic activity of yellow sweet clover. Results. Analysis of the results showed that the seeds of commercial cress samples differ significantly in sowing qualities. The differences are most clearly evident after 24 hours of germination. The samples with high sowing qualities of seeds (cultivar Danskiy, sample No. 2; cultivar Zabava, sample No. 5; cultivar Vesenniy sample No. 7) have the largest sprouts, the length of the roots of which can reach 35–42 mm, and the hypocotyl 34–35 mm. Preliminary assessments of the sowing qualities of commercial varietal seeds of cress showed that the differences between the seed samples can be significant: germination varies from 40,0 to 97,5%. Differences in the sowing qualities of the seeds of the samples affect the degree of development of cress sprouts. For a quick assessment of the quality of seeds, we recommend focusing on the initial stages of germination (the percentage of germinated seeds after 1 day).