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Is There Association between the Biometric Variables of Tomato Seeds and their Physiological Quality?

Patricia Penaloza Aspe

Tomato seeds are chosen by weight and size due to the positive association between these properties and the physiological quality of the seeds, as shown by many studies using large seeds and cereals. Nevertheless, for horticultural production, information on this subject is scarce and contradictory. This is the reason for the present research, whose objective is to determine the effect of the weight and size of tomato seeds (Solanum lycopersicum L.) on the physiological quality of the plant expressed as germination and vigor. A total of 30 blocks of nine hybrid tomato seed varieties were used. The seeds came from two different reproduction seasons. In all cases, the plants were of indeterminate growth habits and produced round fruits. The seeds were characterized by weight and size, and their quality was evaluated through tests of germination and vigor using accelerated ageing tests (stress) and usable transplant tests (seedling growth and evaluation). A fully randomized design was used; blocks from each season were compared using variance analysis, and means were compared using the Tukey or t-student test. The association between the two variables was determined using Pearson correlations. A level of significance of 0.05 was applied. The seed blocks for each variety presented significant differences for the size variables but not for weight. It was not possible to discriminate between block quality via the germination tests and usable transplant tests, although the accelerated ageing stress test did show statistical differences between blocks for most of the varieties in question. There was only weak association between the physiological quality of the seeds evaluated using germination and vigor tests and the physical characteristics of said seeds.