S. M. A. Haque
Senior Scientific Officer
Plant Pathology Department, Bangladesh Jute Research Institute
M. S. Rahman
Scientific Officer
Crop Management Department, Agronomy Division, BJRI.
A. Miah
Senior Scientific Officer
Gene Bank Department, Genetics Resourced and Seed Division, BJRI
M. Shahadat Hossain
Senior Scientific Officer
Crop Management Department, Agronomy Division, BJRI.
M. Kamrujjaman
Senior Scientific Officer
Jute Research Sub-Station, BJRI, Tarabo
Status, Seed quality, Health, O-9897
Laboratory of Plant Pathology Department, Bangladesh Jute Research Institute (BJRI), Dhaka, Bangladesh
Postharvest and Agro-processing
The experiments were conducted in the Laboratory of Plant Pathology Department, Bangladesh Jute Research Institute, Dhaka, Bangladesh during 15 January to 5 March 2010. Altogether 107 seed samples representing five tiers breeders, foundation, certified, farmers’ and NGOs seed were collected from fourteen different locations like Dhaka, Manikgonj, Faridpur, Jessore, Pakhimara, Rangpur, Dinajpur, Bogra, Rajshahi, Kustia, Tangail, Comilla, Kishoregonj and Mymensingh district of Bangladesh. The number of seed samples were 5, 2, 6, 90 and 4 under breeder, foundation, certified, farmers’ and NGOs seed tiers, respectively. Primary seed sample of 30 g were randomly taken from 10 different positions of the seed lot. All the primary seed samples were mixed thoroughly to make a composite sample. All the seed samples were labeled properly and preserved properly until the samples were used for the study. Working seed samples were taken from the preserved seed samples as per requirement. Seed collection procedure seed quality and health status were conducted following the International Rules for Seed Testing (Khandakar, 1987). Seed vigour index was determined following
the rules of Jain and Saha (1971). Jute seed moisture was determined by constant temperature oven dry method (Khandakar, 1983 and ISTA, 1999). The working sample 4.5g was evenly distributed over the surface of the container. The weight of the container and its lid were recorded before and after filling the container with the seed samples. The container was placed rapidly on the tops of its lid, and placed in an oven maintaining the temperature of 103± 20 C and dried for 17±1 hrs. After cooling, weight of the container with its lid and contents were recorded. The relative humidity of the ambient air in the laboratory at the time of moisture determination was maintained less 70%. The moisture content of the seed samples were calculated by means of the following formula (ISTA, 1999) and expressed as percentage.
MC (%) = (M2- M3) X 100/ (M2- M1)
MC = Moisture Content, M1 = Weight in grams of container and its cover/lid, M2 =Weight in grams of the container, its cover and its contents before drying and M3 = Weight in grams of the container, cover and contents after drying. Seed germination and seed vigour: Seed germination test was done by blotter method (ISTA, 1999). Seed vigour index was assessed through speed of germination of seeds. Speed of germination was derived from the germinated seedlings at an interval of 24 hours for five days using the formula (Copeland, 1976). Seed purity: The seed purity regarding i) Pure seed, ii) other crop seed, iii) weed seed and iv) inert matter was calculated using the formula (SCA, 1995 and ISTA, 1999). Seed health test: Seed health analysis was conducted by blotter method following the International Rules for Seed Health Testing (ISTA, 1999). The presence of seed borne fungal pathogens was identified by observing their growth characteristics under stereomicroscope at 25X magnification. In some cases, pathogens were identified by preparing temporary slides and observed under compound microscope. Results were expressed as percentage of seeds infected by the pathogens. Data were analyzed statistically and treatments effects were compared by Duncan’s Multiple Range Test (DMRT). Relation between seed borne fungal pathogens and germination was expressed by regression equations (Gomez and Gomez, 1984).
. Int. J. Sustain. Agril. Tech. 11(12): 20-25. (2015)
Journal