Avalia？？o da viabilidade e do vigor de sementes de pepino pelo teste de tetrazólio

we assessed the usefulness of the tetrazolium test for determining the quality of cucumber seeds (cucumis sativus). the base of cucumber seeds were scarified opposite the embryonic axis and the seeds hydrated between moist paper at 25 oc and by immersion in water at 40 oc for 30 minutes or 60 minutes. after hydration, the tegument was removed and the seeds re-soaked in water at 40 oc for 30 minutes or 60 minutes to remove the membrane covering the embryo. the embryos were immersed, in the dark, for 60 minutes at 40 a°c in either 0.075% (w/v) or 1% (w/v) tetrazolium solution and the seeds classified as vigorous, viable but non-vigorous, or unviable. twelve lots of cucumber seeds were subsequently evaluated by the tetrazolium test and compared to tests based on germination, seedling emergence and accelerated aging. our results show that the tetrazolium test can be used to evaluate the viability and vigor of cucumber seeds by scarifying the seeds, soaking them in water at 40 oc for 60 minutes to remove the tegument, removing the embryo membrane by soaking in water for a further 60 minutes at 40 oc and staining the embryos at 40 oc by immersing them for 60 minutes, in the dark, in 0.075% tetrazolium solution.