Agricultural and Biological Research

Comparative study of seed quality parameters in four varieties of wheat stored in different packing materials

Sunita Bhandari, Sarita Sharma*, Ravi Kumar and Bankey Lal

This comparative study investigates the impact of different packaging materials on seed quality parameters of four wheat varieties (VL-802, VL-829, VL-892, and UP-1109) during storage periods of 6, 12, and 18 months. Seed quality parameters included test weight, first count, moisture content, germination rate, root length, shoot length, weight of fresh seedlings, and weight of dry seedlings. Four packaging materials, namely cotton bag, plastic container, steel container, and earthen pot, were employed in a controlled storage environment. The study revealed significant variations in seed quality parameters due to storage materials, seed varieties and duration. Notably, steel container exhibited the best performance followed by plastic container and earthen pot for maintaining seed quality over time, while cotton bags performed the least favorably. Among all the verities VL-802 showed the highest seed quality parameters for maintaining the seed quality till the 18 month in case of 1000 seed weight and dry weight and minimum in VL-829. Seed moisture content, first count, shoot length, roots length and fresh seedling weight was highest in VL-892 and minimum in UP-1109. Standard germination was highest in VL-829 and lowest in UP-1109. Seed moisture content decreased as storage duration increased, seed vigor declined with longer storage periods, and the choice of packaging container significantly affected the first and standard germination count. Moreover, shoot and root lengths, as well as seedling fresh and dry weights, were found to vary with both storage container and wheat variety. These findings emphasize the importance of selecting appropriate storage containers and monitoring storage conditions to ensure the preservation of wheat seed quality.