Effect of seed size on the physiological performance of bean

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of seed size on the physiological performance of bean. Bean seeds were used for the experiment, cultivar Manteigão Vermelho, 2011/2012 season. The experimental design was completely randomized, with four replications. The seeds were separated into three size classes, as follows: Class 1 – mixed seeds (control); Class 2 – large seeds (> 7 mm in diameter) and Class 3 – small seeds (<7 mm in diameter). Seeds were evaluated for thousand seed weight, germination, first count of germination, emergence rate index, seedling length, fresh and dry mass of seedlings and electrical conductivity. Data were subjected to analysis of variance and means were compared by Tukey test at 5% probability. Bean seeds from the mixture and large classes influenced germination, with higher physiological quality. Regardless of the size of the seed, there were no significant differences in the rate of seedling emergence and electrical conductivity of seed. Although seedlings from the different size classes have not shown differences in length, generally, the mixing and large classes produced seedlings with greater accumulation of fresh and dry mass.