Abstract

Quinoa has grown importance in the world due to the nutritional quality of its grains and crop adaptability to diverse climatic conditions. One problem that limits its cultivation is the reduced viability of seeds during storage and the information is rather scarce. This work aimed at evaluating the physiological quality of quinoa seeds along time when submitted at storage conditions and packaging. An entirely randomized experiment was conducted on factorial scheme 2 x 3 x 6 with four repetitions. The treatments consisted of  2 storage conditions: lab environment and Biochemical Oxygen Demand (B.O.D.) chamber set at 4±2°C and 90% relative humidity (RH); 3 package types: permeable, semi-permeable and impermeable; and 6 evaluations: before storage (0), 60, 120, 180, 240 and 300 days after storage. Seed viability was determined by the standard germination test while vigor by accelerated aging test, emergence in sand and emergence speed index. The use of impermeable packaging kept at low temperature maintained the physiological quality of seeds during 300 days of storage. The seeds kept in permeable or semi-permeable packaging under uncontrolled temperature and humidity conditions were viable only for 180 days. The permeable package using kraft paper was the least efficient to conserve physiological quality of quinoa seeds. It was demonstrated that quinoa seeds are rather sensitive to high temperature, loosing viability in short time.

Key words: Chenopodium quinoa, seed vigor, seed viability, seed conservation, packaging.