Abstract

Deterioration of oil seeds is more rapid when compared to the other crop seeds, the deterioration will depend on the chemical composition of the seed and also storage environment. Accelerated ageing (a.a) is one test to study the storage potential of the seeds where the seeds have been exposed to the artificial ageing conditions such as the different relative humidity and temperature. Sunflower hybrid seeds are exposed to different temperatures and relative humidity against the time. These accelerated aged seeds are stored for about 2 to 4 months and even after the 4 months of storage the seeds of the treatment T-1(a.a at 90 to 95% RH and 41°C for 48 h) showed the minimum seeds certification standards compared to all the treatments. There is a significant reduction in the germination as the accelerated ageing increases which corresponds to the increase in the temperature, relative humidity and timing. Seeds can be stored at this extreme temperature and relative humidity for about 4 months without losing the minimum seed certification standard germination.

Key words: Sunflower, RSFH-130, accelerated ageing, storage.